4 FIRs filed after INDIA bloc's march to Supreme Court amid anti-EC protests

Delhi Police have registered four First Information Reports (FIRs) in connection with the INDIA bloc’s protest march against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Monday, on grounds of alleged violation of prohibitory orders in and around Connaught Place and the Supreme Court, a police officer said.

Two FIRs have been registered at Tilak Marg police station, while Mandir Marg and Barakhamba Road police stations have registered one FIR each, the officer said on condition of anonymity. The prohibitory orders were imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

The development came a day after thousands of protesters, including opposition parties, gathered in central Delhi, in one of the largest political mobilisations in the Capital in recent years. Monday’s demonstration came following two days of police action against protesters.

Also read | Week of protests done, Congress takes a breather before next anti-CEC push

On Monday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi led the march from Constitution Club towards the Supreme Court, where he sought an independent, time-bound investigation into decisions allegedly taken unilaterally by Kumar and demanded that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be suspended pending the inquiry.

The march was initially scheduled to begin at 1.30pm but did not start until around 4pm. However, thousands of people, including activists and other supporters, began gathering at Barakhamba Road and Connaught Place intersection, raising slogans and carrying flags. Police personnel cordoned off the area, erected barricades and diverted traffic as the gathering grew.

Also read | Opposition takes CEC protest to Supreme Court

Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby, met at the Constitution Club to finalise the petition before the march.

The petition, which named the Election Commission of India, Kumar and two other election commissioners as respondents, was flagged for 14 defects, including a shortfall of ₹220 in court fees, an illegible photocopy of Kharge’s identity card and missing vakalatnamas for nine of the 11 petitioners. The legal team requested that the matter be listed on Thursday.

Also read | Supreme Court flags 14 'defects' in Rahul Gandhi's petition against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

In a post on X, Gandhi thanked those who participated in the protest and supporters who backed the demonstration remotely at 3pm. “Today was a very important day because we needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated,” he wrote.