Delhi High Court Denies Urgent Hearing on Youth Congress Protest Petition
The Delhi High Court has refused an urgent hearing for the Youth Congress petition challenging a police ban on their protest against the Chief Election Commissioner.
New Delhi, October 9 (Daily Kiran) : The Delhi High Court has declined to hold an urgent hearing on a petition filed by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) concerning a planned protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The court’s decision came on Friday, as the IYC sought to challenge the Delhi Police‘s refusal to permit their demonstration at Jantar Mantar.
Senior advocate Sanjay Ghosh presented the case before Acting Chief Justice Nitin Vasudev Sambare, requesting immediate attention to the petition. However, the Chief Justice opted not to expedite the hearing, instead scheduling the case for Monday.
Ghosh noted that the matter had been mentioned in court the previous day, and he was allowed to raise it again if it had not been listed. In response, Chief Justice Sambare questioned the urgency, stating, “What is the rush? We will hear it on Monday.”
The petition was filed by Uday Bhanu Chib, the national president of the IYC, in response to a police order dated October 1 that rejected their request to hold the protest. The IYC had initially sought permission on September 25 to conduct a peaceful demonstration with around 100 to 150 participants. They asserted their willingness to comply with all legal requirements regarding safety, traffic management, and maintaining public order.
According to the petition, despite multiple follow-ups, the police informed them of the rejection only on October 1, which coincided with the proposed date of the protest. The IYC claims that the police’s decision violates their fundamental rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly as outlined in Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution.
The petition also challenges the “mechanical application” of guidelines related to protests and gatherings.
