Jantar Mantar, New Delhi (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
September 25: the Indian Youth Congress applies for permission for 100 to 150 people.
October 1: Delhi Police communicates its refusal, on the day of the planned protest.
October 8: the plea is mentioned before the Delhi High Court.
The court says it will be listed within 24 hours.
The hearing is expected on October 9.
The plea was mentioned before a division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre, with Justice Sanjay Sharma, according to India Legal.
Senior Advocate Sanjoy Ghose mentioned the matter for urgent listing, according to LiveLaw.
The court said the plea would be listed within 24 hours, and that counsel can mention it again the next day if it is not listed.
The hearing is expected on Friday, October 9, 2026.
The petitioner is the Indian Youth Congress, through its national president Uday Bhanu Chib.
The plea was filed by advocate Roopesh Singh Bhadauria.
The Indian Youth Congress applied to Delhi Police on September 25 for a peaceful gathering of about 100 to 150 people.
It said it would accept lawful conditions on security, traffic management, discipline and public order.
Delhi Police communicated its rejection on October 1, the very day the demonstration was scheduled, according to Bar and Bench.
The plea argues that the refusal came too late despite repeated follow-ups with the police.
It argues that the police cannot turn a power to regulate a peaceful assembly into a power to prohibit it without an individualised and proportionate assessment.
It challenges what it calls a mechanical application of protest guidelines.
The plea invokes Articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, which cover equality, freedom of speech and the right to assemble peacefully.
The plea also relies on Supreme Court rulings that recognise the right to peaceful assembly.
Separately, a petitioner has asked the Supreme Court to examine the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, according to India Legal.
Jantar Mantar, New Delhi (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
