The Bombay High Court refused to bar police from detaining protesters against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It said specific unlawful detentions would be addressed while the plea remains pending.
Mumbai,Oct 13, 2026 15:57 IST
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to pass a blanket order against police detentions of people protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, but said it would act if specific instances of illegality were brought before it.
Hearing a petition alleging that Mumbai police had illegally detained hundreds of peaceful demonstrators over the weekend, the court declined a request for an interim direction restraining the police from making further detentions during peaceful protests.
The petition was filed by advocate Sagar Devre, who said the detentions took place when people in Mumbai held marches on October 10 and 11 in solidarity with protests in the national capital against the CEC. According to the plea, those detained included women, women with minor children and students.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Manish Tomar urged the court to restrain the police from making further detentions during peaceful demonstrations. A division bench, however, refused to grant a general stay on police action. "We cannot pass a blanket order saying no person shall be detained. You point out if there is any such instance, we will take care. We will not permit anything wrong," the court observed.
Additional Government Pleader Manish Upadhye sought time to obtain instructions from the concerned authorities on the allegations made in the petition. Accepting the request, the high court adjourned the matter and posted the plea for further hearing on October 19.
Devre's plea sought protection of the fundamental rights of citizens, peaceful demonstrators, lawyers and others in connection with the protests in the national capital against the CEC. It said law enforcement agencies must exercise utmost restraint and that the right to peaceful assembly must be respected, while seeking directions to the police against arbitrary and unconstitutional detention of peaceful protesters.
In sum, the high court declined to bar police detentions through a blanket order, asked for specific instances of wrongdoing to be brought before it, and adjourned the case to October 19.
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