Delhi High Court declines to entertain PIL for criminal action against CJP protestors

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by NGO Save India Foundation seeking directions to the Delhi Police to initiate criminal action against Cockroach Janta Party protestors for indulging in arson, physical attack on police staff and damaging public property at Jantar Mantar.

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said that the petitioner is at liberty to approach the authorities who may take appropriate action under law.

"Heard the counsel for the petitioners. This PIL has been filed with the following prayers. We are of the opinion that in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in respect of Damage to Public Properties Act and the 2018 judgement, we permit the petitioner to represent his cause with the authorities concerned, the representation shall be attended to and appropriate decision warranted under law shall be taken. The decision shall be communicated to the petitioner," the Court said in its order.

The petition alleged that Delhi Police has failed to take legal action against the protestors attacking the police personnel on duty and causing damage to public property.

As per the plea, the protestors were following the pattern of civil unrest employed in neighbouring countries Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal by inciting the public via social media messages to uproot the current administration.

Certain lawyers are also promising free legal aid to such protestors, the plea said.

"Widely circulating media messages systematically invoke recent violent civil unrest and structural collapses witnessed in neighbouring democratic nations like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, explicitly inciting the public to uproot the current administration in an identical manner, while certain legal practitioners actively abuse their professional standing to instigate lay citizens to bypass state regulations by promising unconditional free legal aid and insulation from criminal consequences," it was submitted.

The plea said that the protestors are trying to topple the democratically elected government and issuing ultimatums demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister.

"The operational methodology relies on assigning sequential tasks designed to foster institutional defiance and hostility against the ruling dispensation, which has rapidly escalated into explicit hate speech, calls to topple the democratically elected government, and open ultimatums demanding the immediate resignation of the Union Education Minister/ Prime Minister under threats of severe consequences if key organizers are arrested," the plea stated.

The petitioner said that criminal action should be initiated against the protestors and directions should be issued “for the safety and security of the citizen of Delhi from the violent protests".

The petitioner-NGO has in the past received repeated flak from the High Court for filing what the Court deemed to be "frivolous" public interest litigation (PIL) petitions, especially petitions targeting masjids and dargahs.

In an order passed on February 24 this year, the Court had noted that the NGO filed as many as 37 PILs between 2024 and 2026, along with 11 writ petitions. The Court recorded in that order that the organisation was unnecessarily attempting to rake up the past and there was no public interest involved in the petitions.

On February 11, the High Court expressed displeasure over the NGO filing repeated PIL petitions alleging encroachments by mosques, dargah and properties belonging to the waqf and then commenting on the matters on social media. 

During a hearing on January 14, the Court had criticised the NGO for targeting masjids and dargahs.