On July 27, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant stated that the right to peaceful protest is absolutely guaranteed and that agitation alone cannot excuse police excess. However, Delhi has tested that assurance almost without pause since then.
It began with the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in June and continues to this day. The capital has recently witnessed a succession of spontaneous outbursts: students’ agitations after the Satya Niketan building collapse, anti-reservation demonstrations, anti-Gyanesh Kumar marches, and protests by students of premier colleges such as Lady Shri Ram (LSR) and Miranda House demanding women’s safety.
This unrest has set nationwide trends with viral moments, with Gen Z stating they forced a union minister to resign. It has also shown how fraught the relationship between dissent, policing, and public space has become. However, the state’s increasingly restrictive response raises a fundamental question: how much physical and political space is a democracy willing to give dissent?
Remarks made by the Chief Justice of India during a Supreme Court hearing on May 15 sparked a wave of public anger that soon grew into a full-scale movement. The agitation had a clear trigger—the NEET-UG 2026 examination, held on May 3, was cancelled on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak, forcing more than two million candidates to prepare for the exam all over again. A retest was eventually held on June 21, but the movement had already gained massive momentum. Students gathered at Jantar Mantar under the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) banner on June 6, and an indefinite sit-in protest began on June 20, demanding education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, a judicial probe into the examination, and wider reforms. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk also joined the protest and began a hunger strike at the site on June 28.
The ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20, the opening day of the monsoon session of Parliament, marked the movement’s climax. More than 10,000 people gathered despite police refusing permission, with Section 163 orders in force and mobile internet shut down around Jantar Mantar. When protesters pushed against the barricades around Parliament Street, police resorted to using batons, water cannons, and tear gas.
Delhi Police reported that 118 of its personnel were injured, while Reuters reported about 60 injured protesters. Protesters and the police traded charges, with the police initially denying the use of force at the site. Later reports described pellet-like injuries among protesters, with a student’s family fearing he could lose an eye. Pressure built steadily over the next five days.
Union ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh held talks with CJP representatives. On July 25, marking the 36th day of the sit-in protest, Pradhan resigned just hours before the third round of a nationwide march. The CJP finally called off its agitation after the government accepted its key demands: accountability for the exam crisis, compensation for the families of students who died by suicide, and protection for protesters.
For more details: Navamalayalam.com