The Delhi High Court on Thursday (October 15, 2026) refused to restrain the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and its founder Abhijeet Dipke from holding a protest at Connaught Place’s Central Park on October 16, even as it took on record the police’s assurance that all possible steps would be taken to regulate and control protesters.
Central Park shut for two days ahead of CJP’s ‘Tiranga’ march; Delhi Police say small gathering may be allowed elsewhere
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma heard a plea by a Connaught Place vendor seeking directions to the police to regulate the protest. Addressing a press conference along with All India Students’ Association national president Neha Bora , Students’ Federation of India leader Aishe Ghosh, All India Students’ Federation national president Viraaj Devang and actor Prakash Raj among others, Mr. Dipke also alleged that extraordinary restrictions have been imposed in the capital to prevent people from joining protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar ‘s resignation. CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke accuses the government of voter deletions and protests crackdown around Delhi’s electoral rolls and Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. It advised commuters to plan their journeys accordingly, allow sufficient travel time and use public transport wherever possible. The Delhi Police also warned that violations of the prohibitory orders would invite legal action and appealed to protesters and members of the public not to join any gathering in contravention of the restrictions. Protestors demand rollback of electoral roll revisions, question Modi’s stance on the CEC as Central Park closes for a Tiranga march.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has ordered the closure of Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16 and 17 ahead of the ‘ Lehra do Tiranga (Let the tricolour wave)’ march called by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke for Friday (October 16, 2026). Traffic movement on certain roads in and around Connaught Place is likely to be affected from 3 p.m. on Friday (October 16, 2026) in view of a proposed gathering at Central Park, Connaught Place, by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), the Delhi Traffic Police said in an advisory. In a post on X, Delhi Traffic Police stated, “In view of a proposed gathering at Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi, on October 16, traffic movement on certain roads in and around Connaught Place is likely to be affected from 03:00 p.m. onwards. The traffic police further cautioned that diversions could be implemented depending on the prevailing situation and urged commuters to follow its official social media handles for real-time updates. — ANI Protests against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Chief Electoral Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continued in the national capital for the sixth consecutive day on Thursday (October 15, 2026), with members of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) and the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) taking out a ‘Tiranga march’ through Connaught Place, reiterating their demands: rollback of the SIR, resignation of the CEC, and restoration of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. Protests against the SIR in Delhi, led by AISF/AIYF with a Tiranga march; about 100 detained amid calls for CEC resignation and Jantar Mantar restoration. NDMC closes Central Park, Connaught Place on Oct 16-17, 2026 for admin reasons ahead of CJP’s Tiranga Lehrao march.
Delhi High Court declines to restrain CJP protest at Connaught Place’s Central Park on Oct 16, while police assure crowd control measures. Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday (October 15, 2026) accused the government of attempting to influence electoral outcomes through alleged voter deletions and asked whether the names of over 13 crore voters being struck off was a “setting”. In a notice issued on Thursday (October 15, 2026), the NDMC said Central Park, the proposed venue for the march scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, would remain closed to the public for “administrative reasons”. NDMC closes Central Park, Connaught Place on Oct 16-17, 2026 for admin reasons ahead of CJP’s Tiranga Lehrao march. “Commuters are advised to plan their journeys accordingly, allow sufficient travel time, use public transport wherever possible and follow the directions of traffic personnel,” the advisory stated. Ahead of the Lehra Do Tiranga (Wave the Tricolour) demonstration called by youth organisations on Friday (October 16, 2026), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) announced that Central Park in Connaught Place will remain closed to the public on Friday and Saturday (October 17, 2026), citing “administrative reasons”.
This comes as youth groups, including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA), at a joint press conference on Thursday appealed to the public to gather for a mass flag-hoisting demonstration at the Central Park on Friday, as part of their ongoing agitation seeking the rollback of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Hours after U.S. Ms. President Donald Trump’s plans for U.S. elections, allegedly aimed at removing parts of the U.S. electorate that was unlikely to vote for Mr. Trump. India criticizes U.S. lawmaker Jayapal’s comments on SIR as unacceptable interference; Jayapal supports protests and election rights, drawing Trump parallels. The SSR seeks to enrol new voters and update electoral rolls. Election Commissioners S. S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi are understood to have raised this as an anomaly among other issues. Gandhi and other Opposition leaders marched to the Supreme Court and submitted a petition on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls issue. BJP accuses Rahul Gandhi of turning the Supreme Court premises into a protest site, alleging mob pressure and intimidation of the judiciary.
Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has not yet published the list of 1.22 crore voters in the State who were issued notices, as part of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, for ‘logical discrepancies’ or for being ‘unmapped’ in previous SIRs. As per the notification issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Phase 3 of the SIR, the CEO of every State has been directed to publish on their websites the lists of persons to whom notices were generated for being unmapped or for logical discrepancies. Maharashtra CEO delays publishing 1.22 crore SIR notices for unmapped/logical discrepancies amid ongoing ERO process and PIL challenges. Amid protests against the special intensive revision (SIR) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday (October 15, 2026) announced the special summary revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in 17 States and Union Territories, including poll-bound Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab. ECI announces annual SSR to enroll/update voters across 17 states/UTs, easing eligibility rules and providing readable voter lists amid SIR protests. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has ordered the closure of Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16 and 17 ahead of the ‘ Lehra do Tiranga (Let the tricolour wave)’ march called by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke for Friday (October 15, 2026).
SSR, an annual exercise, was stalled last year due to the launch of the now-controversial SIR.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal extended support to the ongoing protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the Election Commission of India, the Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Vinay Mohan Kwatra, said Ms. Jayapal’s comments amounted to “unacceptable interference” in India’s “internal affairs”. Jayapal had said the SIR was similar to U.S. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (October 15, 2026) accused Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his allies of attempting to turn the Supreme Court premises “into a protest site” and using “mob pressure to intimidate the judiciary”.
On Monday, Mr.
