Citizens divided between October 10 protest calls, police warnings
Delhi residents are facing uncertainty regarding participation in an upcoming protest against the Chief Election Commissioner due to police-enforced prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS. Authorities are actively discouraging attendance by visiting local communities and warning that the gathering is unsanctioned.
Why it matters
The situation illustrates the tension between the state's power to restrict public assembly for order and the citizens' right to protest against government institutions.
With the police calling up volunteers, holding meetings with residents and using loudspeakers to announce that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) are in place near Jantar Mantar and youth organisations going door-to-door to mobilise those affected by the special intensive revision (SIR) process, people are in a dilemma over whether to join the protest on October 10 seeking removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and suspension of the SIR drive.
Section 163 of the BNSS, 2023, empowers an Executive Magistrate (such as a District Magistrate or Commissioner of Police) to issue urgent temporary orders to maintain public order, prevent danger, or stop unlawful assemblies.
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