India : Section 163 + Detention + Peace Bond : A Strategy to kill legitimate Dissent by Modi led Government
By Vineet Malik | October 26, 2026 | India
India has been witnessing one of the worst tyrannical days in the recent times for raising voice against National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) competitive examination paper leaks and testing irregularities along with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls for wrongfully deleting millions of legitimate voters mostly targeting minorities, poorer communities and lower castes.
21 students allegedly committed suicide due to emotional trauma caused by NEET examination scandal, academic pressure, fear of failure, anxiety over test results, paper leaks and unexpected cancelations.
Nation-wide peaceful protests led to the resignation of the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 25 July however, demand for the Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation met with a heavy crackdown and police brutality by the Delhi Police and other paramilitary forces that literally turned the Capital into a fortress since last month.
Government had shut Delhi Metro including important Indian Railway routes to deter protestors from participating in the protests and traveling to Delhi. The Police was seen stopping the trains midway and detaining protestors by entering inside the trains.
On 20, 22 July and 9 October, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had suspended mobile internet within roughly 15 km of the protests site.
Modi Government Accused for using Unfair Means to come into Power
A report published by The Indian Express Journalist Ritika Chopra on 23 September exposed how the CEC Gyanesh Kumar ignored on record objections raised 14 times in 10 months by other two Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh and Vivek Joshi.
Despite two ECs objecting time and again over administrative bypasses on crucial decisions, Kumar allegedly failed to give any heed and failed to take any action.
Unauthorised additions to Form 6 along with Information technology (IT) Centralisation systems : Electoral Roll Management (ERONet) were used for local registration processes.
Comments made by the CJI on Declining Urgent Hearing on Police Brutality
When the Delhi Police was busy detaining, hurling filthy abuses, beating peaceful protestors with batons, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant declined an urgent hearing and oral request regarding alleged police actions against student protesters at Jantar Mantar on 22 July. The CJI said "We are not interested in videos; we don't have time to watch" and "Don't waste our time, and don't waste your time."
U-Turn taken by the CJI for the 1st Time
The CJI retracted from his controversial statement pertaining to “We are not interested in videos of police brutality, don’t waste our time.”
Clarification issued by the CJI
Later, when the media reported the comments made by the CJI, a clarification was issued by him that said “No formal petition had actually been filed with the Registry at that point. Proper legal procedures must be followed rather than relying on informal oral requests or video showings.
The Supreme Court later scheduled court hearings for properly filed petitions.
Interestingly, the CJI Surya Kant is the same individual who made a controversial oral observations on 15 May during the Court hearing pertaining to the designation of senior advocates and fake credentials in the legal profession.
Comments made by the CJI on naming Unemployed Youth as Cockroaches
"There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don't get any employment and don't have any place in the profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, some of them become Right to Information (RTI) activists, some of them become other activists, and they start attacking everyone."
The comments made by the CJI triggered widespread public criticism, particularly among Gen-Z internet users, student groups and activists who viewed the language as an attack on unemployed youth and the freedom to critique public institutions in India.
U-Turn taken by the CJI for the 2nd Time
The CJI retracted from his controversial statement pertaining to “There are youngsters like cockroaches..”
Clarification issued by the CJI
In consequence to the sternest backlash, the CJI and the top Court clarified that the remarks were misconstrued and not aimed at the nation's youth. The Court stated the criticism targeted individuals who entered the legal and public spheres using fraudulent or fake degrees and those who misused RTI activism and social media to systematically target the judiciary.
Cockroach Movement began in India
Interestingly, while all this was happening in India, on 15 - 16 May, an Indian National Abhijeet Dipke, then studying at Boston University, United States of America created a satirical page on X and named it as “Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)”.
Unexpectedly, the online page on X with the handle @Cockroachisback went hyper viral to the extent of having more than 440 Million worldwide followers as on today.
The Delhi Police to deter peaceful protestors registered multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) against them, most of them were students.
Later, the Supreme Court intervened to get all such FIRs quashed.
30 Journalists Detained by the Delhi Police for doing their Work
The Delhi Police that directly functions under the Central Government detained multiple journalists by dragging them into prison like cells buses for covering protests.
Both male and female Police Officers were seen on duty with their name plates missing on their uniform. Such incidents further sparked outrage as an act construed to be a nefarious design to first commit police excesses and thereafter escape from getting prosecuted. However, the press promptly highlighted such incidents by questioning the alleged errant police officers.
Amnesty International said “Weapons were deployed at the protests site in ways that breached international law and India’s own guidelines. Response by Modi led Government is heavy handed, state-sanctioned violence however the Government denied any excessive use of force on protestors.
On 10 October, Indian Government most brazenly flagged the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) concern over reports of mass detentions in India.
Statement issued by the Indian Government over alleged Human Rights Violations
“The OHCHRs concerns are misplaced and constitute an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India. The United Nations Human Rights body was further accused for being biased and selective by the Indian Government.
Tweet posted by Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra rebutting the Indian Government Statement
Government Banned the Historical Protest Site – Jantar Mantar
The Delhi Police officially de-notified and closed Jantar Mantar as a designated protests and demonstrations site for public on 12 October.
The Delhi Police designated three other sites to conduct peaceful protests - Ramlila Maidan, CBD Ground and Burari Ground in Delhi.
Decision made by the Delhi Police was criticised on the premise of making the demonstrations less visible and difficult for protesters to make their voices heard.
Out of anger and patriotism, two CJP Co-Conveners - Journalist Saurav Das and London School of Economics Alumni (LSE) Ashutosh Ranka and Engineering Graduate Ajinkya Shinde were sent to jail for five days after getting arrested for allegedly trespassing the de-notified protest site Jantar Mantar, chanting slogans and hoisting the Indian National Flag.
Police accused Das, Ranka and Shinde of trespassing, breaching a peace bond, violating prohibitory orders and obstructing public officials.
All such allegations were denied by the said CJP protestors.
CJP Protestors signed the Peace Bond
Das and Ranka were released after spending seven days in jail. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) cum Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) Ritu Raj passed the release order after accepting the sureties furnished by them.
The release order stated “Both gave written undertakings not to commit any breach of the peace, expressing full faith in judiciary and all its instruments including the learned SEM Court. We will not make any calls for protest at Jantar Mantar till such a time it is de-notified in accordance with law. Any protest undertaken would be done within the four corners of the Constitution.
Das said “The Police can’t stop us from protesting peacefully. If they want to stop us then first get the Constitution of India changed.”
All India Students’ Association (AISA) Involvement in Protests
National President of AISA and a PHD student at Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU) Neha Bora and other students have been most aggressively protesting against the present Government.
After witnessing the alleged intimidation tactics adopted by the Delhi Police on CJP leaders, Bora two days back refused to sign the peace bond of Rs.10,000 with a surety in order to maintain peace on a contention that it could undermine fundamental rights including the right to protest and express democratic dissent.
The Delhi High Court rejected her plea challenging the Police however directed the SEM to provide relevant material and consider the timing of the bond during proceedings.
Bora says “The Courts of the land will see that the execution and interpretation of peace bonds is in contradiction to our fundamental right to democratic dissent.
In the coming days we will fight for CECs Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. For this it is essential for democratic protests not to be called breach of peace. The peace bond as it is being interpreted today will not be signed by AISA and me.
If we don’t ask the Government any questions, whose peace are we keeping ?
When right-wing goons gather outside the police station, what makes the police not take any action against them for breach of peace ? But when common people raise slogans against the CEC Gyanesh Kumar to stop the SIR, that is called breach of peace. Is this the peace that we are supposed to keep ? The right-wing goons have the right to block streets, stop women lawyers from going inside the police station but democratic protest is a breach of peace.
Design to Kill Legitimate Dissent
The Delhi Police allegedly on a false premise to maintain peace invoked Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNNS) 2023 empowers an Executive Magistrate to issue temporary, urgent written orders to maintain public order and prevent imminent threats to safety, health or peace.
Legal Consequences : Disobedience or violation of a valid order issued under Section 163 is a cognizable offence.
Peaceful Protest – A Fundamental Constitutional Right in India
The right to peaceful protest is derived from
Article 19(1)(a) Freedom of Speech and Expression
Article 19(1)(b) Right to Assemble Peacefully and without Arms
However, the said right is not absolute and comes with legal boundaries such as reasonable restrictions, no indefinite blockades, public order and safety.
Such restrictions must approve the Constitutional test of reasonableness, proportionality, necessity and non-arbitrariness.
There could be No Expression without these Rights : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court in the matter of landmark judgment ‘Re – Ramlila Maidan Incident vs Home Secretary and others' on 23 February 2012 examined the Constitutional scheme and the right to Freedom of Speech and Expression in India.
“The framers of our Constitution in unambiguous terms granted the right to Freedom of Speech and Expression and the Right to Assemble peacefully and without arms. This gave the Citizens of India a very valuable right which is the essence of any democratic system. There could be no expression without these rights.”
It remains to be seen, for how long the Government will continue to shield the errant CEC Gyanesh Kumar, will ever prosecute errant police officers brutally using batons along with nail-studded canes against unarmed peaceful protestors including senior citizens, women, journalists and advocates, hurling filthy abuses and thereby creating fear in the minds of Citizens by considering themselves above from the law of the land.
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