Protests LIVE | CJP says ‘State at war with citizens’; Rahul invites all to SC march tomorrow
CJP-led agitations demanding SIR rollback and resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar enter Day 2; leaders say country being “pushed towards civil war-like situation”
Despite the Supreme Court's direction on Sunday (October 11) that people gathering peacefully should not be illegally detained, crackdowns continued in Delhi, with CPM Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas being detained along with Left political and student leaders, and allegedly driven around in a prison van through the national capital. Brittas was allegedly pushed off the vehicle at one point and he was found in a visibly distressed state.
In the afternoon, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) held a Press conference, with its leaders asking why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "desperate to protect" Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. "What does he know about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections or other polls that BJP won that you have to protect him?" remarked CJP leader Saurav Das.
The pressure group remarked that the "State was at war with its citizens" and that it had "created a civil war-like situation". They gave CEC Kumar 48 hours to resign, after which they would launch an indefinite sit-in and a nationwide “Election Commission Thik Karo” campaign. Leader Ashutosh Ranka said the movement would expand its focus to Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
In the morning, the apex court issued a notice to the Centre on a plea seeking contempt proceedings for alleged violation of the court's direction to ensure that there is no "complete prohibition" on Metro and train services in Delhi due to the CJP protest.
In a special sitting, a bench of justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure that Delhi Metro functions as per its normal schedule, and that there is no disruption to internet services, subject to law and order conditions. The apex court also asked Mehta to ensure that lawyers, journalists and others are not impeded in discharging their professional duties.
The CJP and Opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of CEC Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were put under preventive arrest following their detention yesterday at the Delhi airport ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest, were released on Sunday morning after being produced before an executive magistrate.
They were released on condition that they would not "breach peace" for a year, CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said.
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Live Updates
- 11 Oct 2026 8:49 AM IST
Petitioner seeks withdrawal of plea for release of detained CJP leaders
Petitioner Gaurav Bharti has sought withdrawal of the habeas corpus petition filed before the Supreme Court seeking the release of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders and others detained during protests in Delhi. It has also been clarified that the plea was not filed by the CJP in its official capacity, the Bar and Bench reported.
The petition sought the production and release of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, co-convenor Saurav Das, spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka and others allegedly detained ahead of protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The detentions took place amid a heavy security deployment across Delhi on Saturday, when the CJP had called for a demonstration at Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Police had denied permission for the protest, and several demonstrators were detained as authorities moved to prevent gatherings at Jantar Mantar and other locations in the capital.
- 11 Oct 2026 8:39 AM IST
Contempt plea against Delhi Police chief to be mentioned in SC
A fresh contempt petition against Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar is set to be mentioned before the Supreme Court on Sunday, Bar and Bench reported.
The petition, filed by Aman Prasad, alleges that police action against protesters in Delhi on Saturday violated directions issued by the Supreme Court.
According to the report, the plea raises allegations of assault, detention of protesters, police personnel operating without identification badges and mistreatment of women demonstrators.
The petition comes amid a police crackdown on protests in the capital against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstrations, called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and joined by student groups and other organisations, demanded Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The allegations in the petition are yet to be adjudicated by the court.
- 11 Oct 2026 8:36 AM IST
Northern Railway restores normal train services on October 11
Northern Railway has announced that all train services will run according to their regular schedules on Sunday, October 11, following two days of cancellations and rescheduling linked to security arrangements for the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) protest in Delhi.
On Saturday, Indian Railways cancelled mail and Express trains due to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 am and 2 pm. The restrictions covered trains that left their originating stations after 2 pm on October 9 and were scheduled to reach either station during that window.
The cancellations followed intelligence inputs and traffic advisories warning of severe congestion around the two stations during the planned protest.
The CJP had called for a demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
- 11 Oct 2026 8:34 AM IST
CJP leaders to be produced before magistrate at 9 AM today
Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das will be produced before an Executive Magistrate at Delhi Cantonment Police Station at 9 am on Sunday (October 11), according to an update from the party’s legal head, reported the Hindustan Times.
The legal head said a Delhi Police official informed the outfit’s legal team about the development on Sunday morning.
Advocates representing the outfit will be present at the police station when the three leaders are produced.
Dipke, Ranka and Das were detained by Delhi Police after arriving in the national capital from Mumbai for the CJP’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities.
- 11 Oct 2026 8:07 AM IST
India rejects UN rights office’s concerns over Delhi protest detentions
India has rejected the UN Human Rights Office’s (OHCHR) remarks on the events in New Delhi, calling its concerns “misplaced” and accusing it of unwarranted interference in the country’s internal affairs.
In a statement shared by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in Geneva on X, India said the right to peaceful assembly was guaranteed by the Constitution and safeguarded by the country’s institutions, an independent judiciary and a free media.
“We have seen the OHCHR’s remarks about today’s events in New Delhi,” the mission said, adding that citizens exercise their right to peaceful assembly subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order. “The authorities, for their part, act in accordance with the law, and our courts remain available to all for redressal of any grievances,” it said.
India also called on the OHCHR to devote comparable attention to large-scale protests elsewhere, arguing that the UN body should act in keeping with its mandate of impartiality and non-selectivity.
The response came after the United Nations expressed concern over mass detentions in Delhi amid protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstrations have been accompanied by heightened security measures and restrictions in parts of the national capital.
- 11 Oct 2026 7:45 AM IST
Delhi Police to take legal action over video showing cops wearing shoes inside Bangla Sahib
Delhi Police will initiate legal action over a video circulated on social media allegedly showing police personnel wearing shoes inside Gurdwara Bangla Sahib during a crackdown on protesters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an official said on Saturday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma, in a post on the official police handle on X, said the personnel seen in the video were walking through a common passage used by devotees to reach the point where they remove their shoes before entering the gurdwara.
"The video has been circulated deliberately with malicious intent, to outrage the feelings of a respectable religious community and is prejudicial to the religious harmony," Sharma said, adding that legal action was being initiated.
The video surfaced amid a controversy over police personnel entering the gurdwara premises as some protesters, facing police action during demonstrations against the CEC, sought refuge there.
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Harmeet Singh Kalka had accused Aam Aadmi Party leaders of politicising the issue and defaming the religious institution.
Kalka alleged that some protesters entered the gurdwara premises with placards and raised slogans as part of their demonstration. He said staff members stopped them from forcing their way into the hall.
- 11 Oct 2026 7:43 AM IST
Delhi Metro reopens 45 stations after 25-hour closure amid CJP's anti-CEC protest
The Delhi Metro reopened entry and exit gates at 45 stations after a 25-hour closure on Saturday imposed due the CJP's anti-CEC protest, with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announcing that gates at all stations across its network were now open.
In a service update late Saturday, the DMRC said entry and exit gates at all Metro stations were open and interchange facilities at all the concerned stations were also available. "The entry and exit gates of all Metro Stations of the Delhi Metro network are now open. The interchange facility at all the concerned Metro stations is also available," the DMRC said.
The restrictions were initially imposed from 9 pm on Friday on security grounds ahead of a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar. The closure of 45 stations was extended until 10 pm on Saturday, four hours beyond the earlier scheduled reopening time of 6 pm.
The affected stations included key transport hubs such as Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Patel Chowk, Janpath, Mandi House, ITO, Kashmere Gate and New Delhi. The curbs were imposed following a request from Delhi Police over concerns about possible crowd movement towards sensitive locations.
The DMRC had earlier revised its advisory, reducing the number of stations facing entry and exit restrictions from 57 to 45. Interchange facilities were permitted at the affected stations under the earlier arrangement, except at New Delhi Metro station.
- 11 Oct 2026 7:42 AM IST
Massive security arrangements in Delhi prove Centre is in fear: Kishor
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Saturday claimed that the unprecedented security arrangements in Delhi were proof that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was "in fear".
Talking to reporters here late in the evening, the Bankipur MLA asserted that the public anger "must not be taken lightly" and that protests were "likely to grow only more intense".
"Nearly 40,000 personnel of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Delhi. This shows that the government is now living in fear. It is immaterial that because of the massive security arrangements, people could not gather in large numbers," Kishor said.
The Jan Suraaj Party founder also said, "I had been saying this since the Jantar Mantar protests that took place a few months ago that this public anger is not to be taken lightly. It is only going to grow more intense. There is simmering dissatisfaction over issues like unemployment."
Asked about several retired bureaucrats coming out with an open letter in support of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Kishor shot back, saying, "It does not matter how many people come out with such letters. The fact remains that the credibility of the Election Commission has taken a nosedive in the past eight to ten years."
He alleged that the poll panel's "partisan role was evident even during the by-election in Bankipur, where Jan Suraaj Party workers had been wrongfully detained hours before voting began".
- 11 Oct 2026 7:41 AM IST
Press bodies condemn detention of journalists covering Delhi protests
Four journalists' organisations, including the Press Club of India (PCI) and the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC), on Saturday condemned the detention and harassment of several journalists covering protests in the national capital demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a joint statement, the organisations highlighted that police detained several journalists despite their displaying press identity cards, and seized the phones and equipment of some reporters.
The statement was issued by the PCI, IWPC, Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (Delhi unit). The organisations said Delhi Police detained hundreds of protesters demanding Kumar's resignation on Saturday. Journalists covering the police action were also bundled into buses and taken to detention centres, including the Chhatrasal Stadium and the Chanakyapuri police station.
Reporters from The Quint, The Wire, Scroll, Reporter TV, Navbharat Times, Newslaundry, and senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta were among those detained. “The reporters said they were detained while filming detentions, despite prominently displaying their press cards,” the statement said.
It pointed out that police dismissed the journalists' claims of being members of the press, with some officers reportedly saying, “Everybody claims to be a journalist these days.”
The organisations also said they received complaints that official reporting phones belonging to the detained journalists were snatched and seized. Describing the detentions as a “blatant attack on the freedom of press”, the organisations questioned Delhi Police's earlier position that only journalists accredited by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) would be allowed to cover the protests.
- 11 Oct 2026 7:33 AM IST
INDIA bloc to hold protest march in Delhi on Monday, submit memorandum to CJI
The INDIA bloc will hold a protest march in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on the 'vote chori' issue on Monday, while a delegation of its senior leaders will submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice of India for his intervention in the matter.
On Monday, the Congress and the entire INDIA bloc and the country's youth will again take to the streets in massive numbers. This time too, the voice will echo across the nation – louder than ever before, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.
“We will also meet the Chief Justice (of India) and demand that when the Constitution is being torn to shreds on Delhi's streets and democracy is being crushed, the guardians of the law cannot sit with blindfolds on,” he said. “Will we stay silent while the Constitution is ripped apart? That will never happen. We will ensure accountability is fixed!” he added.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said the party appeals to every Indian concerned about democracy's survival to join the INDIA bloc's “massive” protest march in Delhi on Monday against the nationwide “vote chori” orchestrated by the Modi-Shah regime. “Yesterday, we held a comprehensive meeting with various leaders to prepare for this march,” he said.
“INDIA bloc MPs, leaders, workers and all concerned citizens will hold a huge protest march against Gyanesh and Co, and a delegation of our senior leaders will submit a memorandum to the Hon'ble CJI (Surya Kant) for his intervention in this crisis,” the Congress general secretary said. “Gyanesh must go. There will be no backing down,” he added.
