Delhi has witnessed an extraordinary security crackdown ahead of the October 10 protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with police blocking access to protest sites, shutting Metro stations, detaining student and youth leaders and disrupting transport services.

Authorities have also imposed a 24-hour mobile internet suspension across a large part of central Delhi, while the Union Home Ministry has directed states and Union Territories to prevent protesters from travelling to the capital.

Despite the restrictions, youth and student organisations have indicated their determination to proceed with the planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

The mobile internet shutdown began at 10 pm on October 9 and is scheduled to continue until 10 pm on October 10, 2026. The order was made public through a post by news agency ANI, which shared a letter addressed to internet service providers Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Jio and MTNL. The letter, marked ‘top secret’, was signed by Manishi Chandra, Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

According to the communication, mobile internet services would be suspended within a four-kilometre radius of the Janpath-Kartavya Path crossing. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said the area covered by the order spans approximately 50 square kilometres, including Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place, India Gate, Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, New Delhi Railway Station and hospitals such as Ram Manohar Lohia and Lady Hardinge.

The IFF noted that the geographical coverage was around seven times larger than the area covered by the internet suspension around Jantar Mantar on October 2, while the duration was twice as long.

The crackdown follows an October 9 directive from the Union Home Ministry asking state and Union Territory administrations to coordinate with Delhi Police and “take preventive steps” to stop protesters from reaching the national capital, The Hindu reported. 
Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, in a communication to chief secretaries and directors general of police, cited “grave law and order and public order implications” arising from the proposed demonstration.

The authorities have also denied permission to the Campaign for Judicial and Political (CJP) protest, while police measures have extended beyond the capital. Reports indicate that student and youth activists have faced detentions and house visits in several parts of the country. Metro station closures, railway service disruptions and road restrictions have further complicated efforts to mobilise for the protest.

According to The Indian Express, at least 1,000 people were detained overnight in Delhi ahead of the planned demonstration. A police source told the newspaper that around 250 of those detained by 12:30 am were from the South East district, particularly areas around Shaheen Bagh, which was at the centre of the anti-CAA protests in 2020.

The letter cited by The Hindu said Delhi Police had rejected the CJP’s application to hold the gathering, pointing to what it described as a “documented history of non-compliance with lawful directions” by the organisation and its supporting groups during earlier mobilisations.

The restrictions come after protests in July that culminated in demands for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and were met with severe police action. Protesters were lathicharged, chased, dragged and beaten, with pellet guns also reportedly used.

The latest internet suspension has drawn criticism from digital rights advocates, who have questioned both the scale of the restrictions and the decision to keep the order unpublished. The IFF said the order runs contrary to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, which held that “an order, particularly one that affects lives, liberty and property of people, must be made available”.

The organisation also challenged the justification for the shutdown, citing research that points to potentially adverse consequences. A 2019 study on internet shutdowns and protest in India by Jan Rydzak, then associated with Stanford’s Global Digital Policy Incubator, found that shutdowns were “much more strongly associated with increases in violent collective action than with non-violent mobilization”.

With restrictions extending across major public spaces, transport hubs and parts of central Delhi, the measures have sharply curtailed movement and communication ahead of the planned protest.

The debate over the shutdown has also raised questions about transparency, the proportionality of the restrictions and the impact of sweeping security measures on the right to assemble and communicate.