CJP protest: No urgent Delhi HC hearing in NGO’s ‘threat to public safety’ plea

THe new delhi heights margaret court on fri declined to desperately hear a petition seeking directions to the police to implement crowd-control measures at all major entry points, including the airport and metro stations, ahead of a proposed protest planned by the political satire group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 6.The petition filed by NGO Save India Foundation’s lawyer, Umesh Sharma, was mentioned before a vacation bench of Justices Saurabh Banerjee and Amit Sharma. The counsel urged the court to hear the petition on Friday itself; however, the court refused the request.The protest, announced by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, seeks the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) paper leak controversy. Under existing rules, applications seeking permission for public protests are generally required to be submitted at least seven days in advance, excluding the day of the event.Despite the event being publicly announced days earlier, CJP had said it would seek permission only on June 6, the day the protest is scheduled to take place.Also Read: CJP protest: Delhi HC refuses urgent hearing on crowd-control pleaIn its petition, the NGO contended that a large-scale mobilisation campaign had been launched, calling on millions of people to assemble at Jantar Mantar, and the call was being actively amplified by public figures, which could pose a serious threat to public safety, critical transit infrastructure, and national security. The NGO further claimed that certain videos circulating online contained operational instructions urging participants to disrupt airport operations and procure items such as pepper sprays and wooden sticks to resist or confront crowd-control measures by law enforcement authorities.The NGO stated that it had submitted representations to the Delhi Police Commissioner and other administrative authorities seeking preventive action. However, in the absence of any publicly notified enforcement measures or definitive preventive guidelines, it approached the Delhi High Court seeking appropriate directions.“The public incitement, systematically drawing structural parallels to recent violent overthrows and regime collapses in neighbouring nations like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, constitutes a direct threat to the internal stability of the Union of India, creating an urgent and apprehended danger of a riotous situation, public affray, and total breakdown of law and order,” the petition stated.