Lawyers detained during Delhi protest decry police brutality and Supreme Court inaction

On October 10, about twenty lawyers gathered near the Supreme Court to protest alleged electoral roll manipulation and call for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Police blocked their march, forcibly pulled and dragged advocates such as Anna Oommen and Anne Mathew into a bus, denied water and information, and later transported them 11 km to the Yamuna Sports Complex where they were held for three hours before bar-association interventions secured release.

Senior advocate Shaadan Farasat, who was not part of the protest, was also seized, had his shirt torn and was thrown into the same bus. The incidents sparked nationwide outrage, with the Supreme Court Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association, and Bombay Bar Association wearing ribbons and filing petitions demanding accountability. Despite a hearing where Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana ordered police not to carry out illegal detentions, no specific punitive measures have been taken, leaving the lawyers doubtful of any meaningful court action.