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On 20 July 2026, Delhi Police used batons and tear gas to disperse a march by the youth-led 'Cockroach Janta Party' as thousands attempted to march toward Parliament demanding the education minister's resignation.
Reports put the number of injured at around 180 (about 60 protesters and 118 security/police personnel); the movement's founder said street marches would pause though the protest would continue.
The episode has revived debate on India's constitutional right to protest, which is recognised but not absolute — balanced under Article 19 against public order and security.
Key Supreme Court rulings — Himat Lal K. Shah (1973), Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (2018), and the Shaheen Bagh case (Amit Sahni, 2020) — have shaped the legal boundaries of protest in India.
Freedom of speech and expression
Right to assemble peaceably and without arms
Permit reasonable restrictions for public order, security, sovereignty/integrity of India
Used by authorities to restrict unauthorised assemblies where public order is threatened
Himat Lal K. Shah v. Commissioner of Police — freedom of assembly held essential to democracy; distinguished reasonable regulation from arbitrary bans
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India — mandated designated protest sites and buffer zones around Parliament/Supreme Court
Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (Shaheen Bagh case) — ruled protests cannot occupy public roads indefinitely
GS Paper II - Indian Polity (Fundamental Rights, Article 19) and Governance
Limits on fundamental rights permitted under Article 19(2)-(6) for specified public interest grounds
Provision allowing authorities to restrict assemblies threatening public order (successor to the old CrPC Section 144)