LIVE: Rahul leaves SC after INDIA bloc files petition over SIR, CEC row
Jantar Mantar is no longer a designated protest site; Centre names 3 new sites in Delhi
The INDIA bloc is taking its fight against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to the Supreme Court, with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi leading a march alongside other Opposition leaders. The delegation is expected to reach the court premises shortly to submit a petition against the CEC.
Chief Justice Surya Kant earlier declined to meet Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul over “vote chori” allegations, saying similar matters are sub judice in the Supreme Court.
Also read: CJP to approach police seeking date to hold peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar
Both Rahul and Kharge had written to CJI Surya Kant, seeking a meeting between 4 and 5 pm on Monday to hand over a memorandum, demanding an end to “vote chori”, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, halting of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and switching back to the paper ballot format.
Map showing Jantar Mantar, denotified as a protest site, and the three new designated protest sites in Delhi: Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground.
In response to Rahul's request for a meeting, CJI Surya Kant said on Sunday that no orders can be passed on the administrative side, as he asked the Congress leader to file a petition on the judicial side that may be taken up on Tuesday, the sources said.
The CJI said the Supreme Court is open 24x7 for all citizens if their fundamental rights are violated, they added.
He also said the Supreme Court cannot interfere with the functions of the executive on the administrative side, the sources said.
March for democracy
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said that Opposition parties, civil society groups and the youth would march to the Supreme Court on Monday to submit a memorandum to the CJI on behalf of the country.
The Congress has termed Monday's protest “Chalo Delhi - March for Democracy”, for which the leaders are scheduled to converge at the Connaught Place-Barakhamba Road junction at 1:30 pm.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said the march to the Supreme Court would be taken out by Indians united beyond parties, gender, caste, community and state.
“Yesterday, the nation's youth came out in Delhi to peacefully protest. They came with love in their hearts, not hatred or anger. They were beaten, both by cops and BJP goons. This is not the India we want.
“Tomorrow, we will march to the Supreme Court as Indians, united beyond party, gender, caste, community and state. Youth, all opposition parties, civil society groups, and all those who believe in democracy and stand by the Constitution of India will walk with us,” Gandhi said in the post.
“Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Ajit Doval and Mohan Bhagwat cannot silence India's voice. These cowards cannot intimidate us. They will have to step aside. We will march together, with love, brotherhood and patriotism. Daro mat,” he said, adding that “tomorrow, all of India will march to the Supreme Court”.
Rahul also alleged that protesters in Delhi were beaten up by the police and BJP's goons on Saturday. He said they were marching in protest as citizens of the country only because they wanted to protect the Constitution.
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Live Updates
- 12 Oct 2026 12:12 PM IST
Rahul Gandhi addressing media now
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi addressing the media on 'Chalo Delhi'. Watch it live here.
- 12 Oct 2026 12:07 PM IST
Not my domain: CJI on Delhi protests, curbs
"Ye mera mudda nahin hai. (This matter doesn't pertain to my domain)," Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said on Monday, when asked about protests against the CEC in Delhi over the past few days and the associated restrictions.
The CJI was interacting with reporters on the sidelines of an event to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi.
The last few days have seen protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in different parts of Delhi. Over the weekend, the capital turned into a fortress, with massive deployment of security personnel, closure of 45 metro stations and intensive checks at the city's border points.
Thousands of protesters, including Cockroach Janta Party leaders and former chief ministers, were detained.
The CJI, when asked about these protests and the restrictions on movement, said the matter was related to law and order.
"Ye mera mudda nahin hai," he said.
- 12 Oct 2026 12:02 PM IST
Jantar Mantar closure: Delhi HC to hear plea on protest rights
The Delhi High Court agreed to hear on Tuesday (October 12) a petition regarding the alleged closure of Jantar Mantar as a protest site in the capital.
A lawyer mentioned the matter before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma on Monday, stating that peaceful protests were being quelled as authorities had not earmarked an alternative site for them.
The court also agreed to hear on Tuesday another petition alleging that "outsiders" had entered the protest held over the weekend and harassed the protesters.
When the counsel urged the bench to urgently hear the petition regarding the protest site on Monday, the court observed that the issue was also being looked into by the Supreme Court.
"Tomorrow. The Supreme Court is equally seized of the matter. Not only that, but the Supreme Court has called on the Union to file their affidavits also. Once the Supreme Court is seized of it, we have to see - to what extent we can look at it again. That's why let us have it tomorrow," the bench responded.
The lawyer mentioning the matter told the bench that the "right to free speech has been quelled to a great extent and that has enormous impact".
- 12 Oct 2026 11:14 AM IST
CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke accuses Modi govt of shielding CEC
Cockroach Janta Party convenor Abhijeet Dipke accused the Modi government of waging a war against citizens to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid growing demands for his resignation.
The activist reached his native village, Santuk Pimpri, in Hingoli district of Maharashtra late last night, and visited the site where his grandmother's final rites were performed.
In a sharp post on X, Dipke wrote, "Youth are being assaulted, journalists are being assaulted, even MPs are being assaulted by Delhi Police. What makes Gyanesh Kumar so indispensable to Modi that he is willing to wage war against everyone just to protect him?"
- 12 Oct 2026 11:03 AM IST
BJP slams Rahul over CJI request meeting
The BJP took a swipe at the Congress over Rahul Gandhi's request for a meeting with the Chief Justice of India, saying the judiciary must remain above day-to-day political battles.
In a post on X, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, "From separation of powers to desperation for power, Rahul Gandhi has confused constitutional law with political theatre!"
He said the CJI declining to meet Gandhi and Opposition leaders sends an important message: The judiciary must remain above day-to-day political battles. "Constitutional institutions cannot be dragged into political theatrics," he said.
Further attacking the Congress leader, Bhatia said merely carrying a copy of the Constitution does not mean you understand it. "Read it. Respect it. And learn the doctrine of separation of powers. The Constitution is a guide to governance, not a prop for political performance!" he added.
- 12 Oct 2026 10:42 AM IST
Rahul Gandhi to address a presser at 11.30 am
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is scheduled to address a media press conference at 11:30 am today at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi.
The press conference is being held ahead of the planned 'Chalo Delhi — March for Democracy' protest from Barakhamba Road to the Supreme Court.
- 12 Oct 2026 10:28 AM IST
Sanjay Raut: CJI unwilling to meet us
On CJI rejecting Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's meeting request and memorandum, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut told ANI, "We have come today as the INDIA bloc is organising a major march towards the Supreme Court to meet the Chief Justice. We had requested an appointment... The Chief Justice, whose role is to safeguard the Constitution, is unwilling to meet us... When we are seeking to save democracy amidst the theft of votes and electoral fraud, and the deletion of millions of names from the rolls and wish to meet you to voice our grievance, you say you will not meet politicians. The people will remember this."
- 12 Oct 2026 10:20 AM IST
Dipke dares Delhi Police to release full video
In Hingoli, Maharashtra, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke dares Delhi Police to release the full video of their conversation during this detention.
He said, "Delhi Police, if you have the courage, release the entire video in which I repeatedly asked them to let me speak to my cousin, give me my phone for two minutes and allow me to speak to my lawyer. Why are you not releasing that video? You are showing an edited version. If you have the courage, show the entire video so that people can understand how you denied me my basic rights. Allowing a person to call their lawyer after arrest or detention is a legal right. Delhi Police did not even allow me that, and now they are taking the moral high ground. They did not tell me, my parents or my lawyers where I was being held, which police station I was in or where in the country I had been taken.
"They did not inform anyone throughout the day. At 3.30 am, they deliberately wanted me to call my parents and cause them further distress when they had already lost my grandmother. Was I supposed to give them another shock by telling them that their son was going to be jailed for a long time? Delhi Police was mentally torturing not just me but my family as well. Did the Delhi Police tell my family where I was being held? They kept telling me to speak to my parents, but did they tell my parents which jail or police station I was in? If they did not, why not? Why did they not tell them? Did they have no humanity?"
- 12 Oct 2026 9:26 AM IST
MP Brittas writes to President, V-P over police assault, seeks independent probe
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas has written to President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, seeking urgent intervention and an independent investigation into what he described as a brutal police assault on him during a peaceful interaction with journalists in New Delhi on Sunday.
Brittas, leader of the CPI(M) group in the Rajya Sabha, alleged that Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel forcibly dragged him away from Connaught Place, lifted him bodily into a police vehicle, assaulted him inside and subsequently abandoned him by the roadside. He said the assault continued even after he repeatedly identified himself as a sitting Member of Parliament.
In separate letters dated October 11, Brittas sought institutional scrutiny of the incident, preservation of video footage and eyewitness accounts, and accountability for the police personnel involved and their chain of command. He also formally raised a question of privilege, seeking its referral to the Rajya Sabha Committee of Privileges for examination and report.
According to Brittas, he reached Connaught Place around 12:30 pm after learning that youth activists protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had been assaulted and detained. He said he was speaking to journalists about the ongoing protests when police personnel forcibly removed him.
“I was simply exercising my democratic right to speak to the press,” he said in his letter, alleging that police personnel dragged him for approximately 50 metres despite his repeated assertions, and those of journalists present, that he was a sitting MP.
Brittas said some police personnel lifted him bodily into a vehicle and carried him towards it as though he were an object to be hauled away. He alleged that the violence escalated after he was placed inside the vehicle, where personnel assaulted him and pinned him to the seat.
The MP said identifying himself as an elected representative did not deter the personnel from subjecting him to what he described as degrading and physically abusive treatment. He was subsequently abandoned by the roadside, he alleged, after a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) directed the personnel to release him on finding that his detention was unlawful.
Brittas said he continued to experience severe physical pain and discomfort following the incident. He also referred to a young man from Jharkhand who witnessed the episode and assisted him, urging that the witness's testimony be secured. He called for an investigation into the role and knowledge of supervisory officers, including the concerned DCP.
The MP argued that the incident was particularly serious because it occurred within hours of the Supreme Court issuing directions concerning the rights of peaceful protesters. The court's directions, as cited by Brittas, included safeguards against illegal detention, uninterrupted internet connectivity, normal Metro and railway services, and the free movement of people.
He said the assault could not be viewed in isolation from the wider police action against protesters demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Brittas also recalled that several Opposition leaders, including former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and himself, had been detained the previous day and transported around Delhi for hours without adequate clarity about their destination or the purpose of their continued movement.
He raised concerns about the alleged denial or delay of food and essential medication to detainees, arguing that the broader circumstances made the latest incident particularly disturbing.
The MP cited Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, which protect freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, and Article 21, which safeguards life and personal liberty. He argued that any restraint or detention must have a lawful basis and that the use of force must be justified and proportionate.
Brittas also invoked Article 105, which protects parliamentary freedom of speech and the functioning of Parliament within its prescribed scope. Clarifying that he was not claiming immunity from the law merely by virtue of being an MP, he argued that a physical assault on a sitting member while peacefully engaging with the media warranted serious institutional scrutiny and raised questions of parliamentary privilege and dignity.
Seeking urgent action, Brittas called for all relevant video recordings, including footage captured by journalists and bystanders, to be identified, collected and preserved. He said the available material should be examined in its entirety to ensure that evidence was not lost and those responsible, including officials in the chain of command, were held accountable.
The letters ask the President and the Vice President to intervene in the matter, with the latter being approached in his capacity as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Brittas has sought an independent investigation into the alleged assault and examination of the incident by the House's Committee of Privileges.
- 12 Oct 2026 9:19 AM IST
Security tightened in Delhi ahead of INDIA bloc’s protest march
Ahead of the INDIA bloc's protest march to the Supreme Court on Monday (October 12), security personnel are deployed at Barakhamba Road, near Mandi House.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are deployed in the national capital alongside Delhi Police personnel.
