Delhi high court declines to stop CJP’s Connaught Place protest, records police assurance on regulation

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Thursday declined to pass an order restraining the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and its founder Abhijeet Dipke from holding a protest at Connaught Place on Friday, while taking on record Delhi Police’s assurance that all possible legal measures would be taken to regulate the gathering.The court was hearing a plea filed by Anil Kumar Gupta, a Palika Bazar street vendor, seeking to prevent protests in Connaught Place and other areas of central Delhi, citing concerns over traffic disruption, business losses and livelihood.Delhi Police told the court that it had taken steps to regulate the proposed protest and would take “all possible steps” in accordance with the law. The court recorded the assurance and posted the matter for November 3.The plea sought directions restraining CJP from holding any agitation, demonstration, march or gathering at Central Park in Connaught Place or at any other location that is not a designated protest venue.The matter was mentioned before a bench led by acting chief justice Nitin W Sambre by senior advocate Sacchin Puri, who sought immediate intervention, arguing that the protest could disrupt normal life, cause severe traffic bottlenecks and lead to financial losses for shop owners in central Delhi.Why CJP plans a Tricolour protestDipke has called on people to gather at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5pm on Friday with the national flag, following the arrest and remand of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.The two leaders were sent to five days of judicial custody after being arrested along with party activist Ajinkya Shinde for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar without authorisation. The site was recently denotified as a designated venue for protests.In a video posted on X, Dipke urged people outside Delhi to organise similar Tricolour marches in their cities, saying the gatherings would demonstrate that waving the national flag was not a crime.(With agency inputs)You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in DelhiStay updated with the latest Delhi news. Download the TOI App.