Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 15: The Delhi High Court on Thursday declined to restrain the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, from holding a proposed protest at Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16. However, the court recorded the Delhi Police's assurance that it would take all possible legal measures to regulate and control the gathering.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma was hearing a petition filed by a street vendor operating in Palika Bazar, Connaught Place. The petitioner sought directions to the police to regulate the proposed demonstration in accordance with the law laid down by the Supreme Court.
The petitioner opposed the protest, arguing that it could disrupt traders' businesses and commercial activities during the festive season. The plea stated that Central Park was not a designated protest venue and raised concerns that barricading and restrictions could inconvenience traders, pedestrians and commuters in the busy commercial hub.
The petitioner's senior counsel told the court that traders and vendors could be forced onto the streets if they lost another weekend due to closures caused by a protest in central Delhi during the festive season.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma informed the bench that steps had been taken to regulate the CJP's activities and assured the court that the petitioner's concerns would be addressed, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
When the petitioner's counsel pressed for a specific direction restraining the party from holding the demonstration, the judges said, "Don't insist. We have passed the order."
The court ultimately declined to issue an order stopping the October 16 protest. It did not grant express permission for the gathering but recorded the police's assurance that appropriate measures would be taken in accordance with the law. The matter has reportedly been listed for further consideration on November 3, 2026.
The petition came up for an urgent hearing on Thursday after the court agreed to take it up earlier in the day. Seeking an early hearing, the petitioner's counsel had argued that the proposed demonstration in the heart of Connaught Place could target local traders and disrupt business during the Dussehra weekend.
"In the heart of Connaught Place Central Park, a protest is called. It seems we are being targeted. This is not a site (for protest). They have already started shutting down. This is the Dussehra weekend. This protest has to be stopped," the counsel told the court.
Dipke has called on "patriots" to assemble at Central Park with the national flag on Friday. He alleged that CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka had been "jailed for unfurling the Tricolour".
The call for the protest came on the day Das and Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail for allegedly violating their peace bonds and entering Jantar Mantar, which is no longer a designated protest area.
Central Delhi has witnessed several large demonstrations by opposition parties, student groups and civil society organisations since June and July over various issues, including matters concerning the functioning of the Election Commission.
Against this backdrop, the petitioner sought the High Court's intervention to prevent disruption to commercial activities in Connaught Place during the proposed demonstration. The court declined to prohibit the protest but reiterated the Delhi Police's assurance that it would take all possible legal steps to regulate and control the gathering.