Supreme Court's Directions on Peaceful Protest and Free Movement in Delhi: Balancing Rights and Public Order
In a special Sunday sitting on 11 October 2026, a Supreme Court bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana issued a set of interim directions about restrictions placed in Delhi around a large protest held on 10 October over the revision of electoral rolls.
Peaceful assembly: People gathering peacefully and without arms must be allowed to assemble as per law, especially in areas where no prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is in force.
Free movement: Metro and railway services must run normally on their schedules, internet services must remain available as permitted by law, and people and traffic must be allowed to move freely across the city, subject to traffic rules and to public-order limits under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
Barricades: Authorities must promptly review the barricades placed across the city, keeping law and order and traffic in mind.
Professionals: The Court recorded an assurance from the Solicitor General that lawyers, journalists and other professionals will not be stopped from doing their work.
Access to the Court: A board displaying a Section 163 prohibitory order outside the Supreme Court premises was to be taken down, so that no one fears coming to court. On 9 October, the Court had already said that a complete shutdown of the Metro and trains was not acceptable and that services should be regulated instead.
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly: Article 19(1)(b)
Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution gives every citizen of India the right "to assemble peaceably and without arms". In simple words, citizens can come together in a group, hold a meeting, march in a procession or sit in a demonstration to share their views, as long as they are peaceful and carry no weapons. This is the legal root of the right to protest in India. Like other freedoms in Article 19, it is not absolute: the State can put reasonable restrictions on it under Article 19(3).
The Supreme Court's directions apply the Article 19(1)(b) balance in a live situation. It allowed peaceful, unarmed assembly where no prohibitory order applies, while asking that Metro, rail, internet and road movement continue, so that the protest did not end up shutting down the rights of everyone else in the city.
Section 163 BNSS (formerly Section 144 CrPC): Prohibitory orders
Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 lets a magistrate pass an urgent order to stop a possible danger to public peace. Such an order can ban gatherings of people, stop certain activities, or close an area for some time. It is commonly called a prohibitory order. It replaced the well-known Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, when the BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024.
The Supreme Court's directions drew a line between areas where Section 163 orders were in force and areas where they were not. Peaceful, unarmed assembly was to be allowed outside the prohibited zones, and a board displaying a Section 163 order outside the Supreme Court itself was ordered to be removed, so that the power did not end up blocking people's access to the court.
Freedom of Speech and Expression: Article 19(1)(a)
Article 19(1)(a) gives every citizen the right to freedom of speech and expression: to share views by speaking, writing, pictures, the internet or any other medium. Protest is itself a form of expression, which is why the right to assemble (Article 19(1)(b)) and the right to speak go hand in hand. Like assembly, speech can be limited only by reasonable restrictions listed in Article 19(2). The courts check these restrictions using the proportionality test.
The direction to keep internet services running, and to let journalists work freely, protects the speech side of the protest. Shutting the internet or the Metro for a whole city must pass the proportionality test, and the Court asked authorities to use regulated, limited measures instead of total bans.
- Special Sunday sitting of the Supreme Court: 11 October 2026; bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana
- Directions: peaceful unarmed assembly allowed outside Section 163 zones; normal Metro and rail services; internet as permitted by law; free movement subject to traffic rules; prompt review of barricades; lawyers, journalists and professionals not to be obstructed; Section 163 board outside the Supreme Court to be removed
- Earlier order of 9 October 2026: no complete shutdown of the Metro or trains; services to be regulated instead
- Article 19(1)(b): assembly; Article 19(3): restrictions on public order and sovereignty-integrity grounds (16th Amendment, 1963)
- Article 19(1)(d): free movement; Article 19(5): restrictions
- Section 163 BNSS (old Section 144 CrPC): maximum 2 months; the State can extend it by up to 6 months beyond its expiry