Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta today informed the Supreme Court that the Delhi Police’s prohibitory order banning the assembly of five or more people from September 30 to October 5, 2024, in the border areas of the NCT, has been withdrawn.

The SG made the submission before the Bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra.

The matter was heard this morning upon mentioning by Senior Advocate Dr. Menaka Guruswamy.

Guruswamy contended, "This notification impacts the city right now, because the Navratri season is on, Dusshera is on, and Ramlila cannot take place. Durga puja festivities cannot take place. The problem is devotees come from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and multiple other states."

However, the SG informed the Bench that the order of the commissioner of police has been withdrawn.

Guruswamy further argued, "No. My instructions are that it is still in place. If the SG is saying that on record, ok. Because my instructions were that it is continued till the 5th of October."

The CJI said, "The police is a subject of the Union. Police is a central subject."

Notably, a Writ Petition was filed by Sunil, a priest at the Kalkaji Temple in Delhi and the Secretary of the Manas Naman Sewa Society, which organizes a large-scale Ramlila at the Satpula Ground in Chirag, Delhi. The petitioner pleaded that the police order would hinder religious celebrations and traditions during this significant period. He claimed that the order would adversely impact footfall during the Dussehra and Navratri festivals.

The petition filed through AoR Prateek K. Chadha noted that Dussehra and Navratri are celebrated across Delhi, attracting large crowds to Ramlila performances and fairs. This year, festivities were scheduled to begin on October 3, but the prohibitory order, which bars assemblies in New Delhi, North Delhi, Central Delhi, and border areas of the National Capital Territory (NCT), now threatens these events. It urged the Court to quash the Delhi Police’s order issued under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which restricts the gathering of five or more unauthorized persons, as well as the carrying of firearms, banners, placards, and lathis, and staging dharnas in public areas during the stated period.

According to the petition, the police order will significantly affect the movement of citizens entering Delhi from other states, without any valid reason related to an emergency or unforeseen security threat. "The reasons provided in the order do not relate to any emergency or unforeseen circumstance that necessitates such a curfew," the petition said, adding that the festivals, elections, and amendments to Waqf laws were all foreseeable and known to public authorities well in advance. It argued that instead of ensuring law and order, the authorities were using Section 163 of BNSS to avoid performing their duties.

The petitioner emphasized that the Delhi Police’s decision severely hampers citizens' fundamental rights, impacting their daily lives, religious practices, and livelihoods. It also called for a reconsideration of the police order, labeling it an unjustified restriction on legitimate public gatherings.

"The Respondent simply seeks to evade them by trying to prohibit legitimate gatherings that would ordinarily take place in a plural and thriving metropolis such as Delhi. It should also be mentioned that various other festivals for various faiths have been permitted previously to take place unobstructed by any order such as the impugned order and the impugned order does not have any reasoning about why the early days of the Navratas should be treated as a different case," the petition read.

Cause Title: Sunil v. Union of India

Chief Justice DY ChandrachudJustice JB PardiwalaJustice Manoj MisraDelhi PoliceTushar Mehta

Sukriti Mishra