HC seeks state reply on illegal detentions during anti-CEC protests

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to respond to allegations that police illegally detained protesters, passers-by and other citizens during demonstrations across Mumbai on October 10 and 11 demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged election malpractices

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to respond to allegations that police illegally detained protesters, passers-by and other citizens during demonstrations across Mumbai on October 10 and 11 demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged election malpractices.

More than 600 people were detained on October 10 and over 300 on October 11, including actors, social activists, senior citizens and students, according to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate and activist Sagar Kantilal Devre. Several detainees alleged that they were harassed by the police.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna noted that some individuals had allegedly been picked up from their homes and detained by the Mumbai police despite not having participated in the protests.

“These individuals must not have any antecedents. They must be peace loving citizens. If someone has a track record, that would be a separate issue then. Everybody has a right to agitate but that agitation must be peaceful. As far as restraint in Maharashtra is concerned, it is too much. However, if there are instances of unlawful detention, we will obviously take care of it,” the bench said.

The court was hearing Devre’s PIL challenging the alleged illegal detention of people during the anti-CEC protests held at various locations in Mumbai on October 10 and 11.

During Monday’s hearing, advocate general Dr Milind Sathe submitted that “no individual has been illegally detained at the August Kranti protest site.” He told the court that protesters had blocked Nana Chowk near August Kranti Maidan without permission, following which the police visited the site and dispersed the crowd.

“As far as the August Kranti Maidan site is concerned, no one was detained,” he added.

However, after considering the petitioners’ allegations that several people had been detained merely for passing by the protest site or being present there peacefully, the bench directed the state government to respond to all allegations of illegal detention. It asked the government to file an affidavit through a senior officer within 10 days.

In his petition, Devre alleged that the police detained more than 600 people on October 10 and over 300 on October 11 during protests seeking the removal of the CEC at August Kranti Maidan, Nana Chowk, Hutatma Chowk and Shivaji Park.

The detainees allegedly included not only protesters but also passers-by, women, a mother accompanied by her child, a senior citizen with a pacemaker and a 22-year-old woman who was merely recording the proceedings. Devre also claimed that a young man suffered a panic attack while inside Tardeo police station.

The petition further alleged that police personnel searched for and picked up people from their homes because they had been named as accused in cases registered during protests in July 2026 against alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. These cases were subsequently quashed by the Supreme Court, Devre said.

Among the reliefs sought in the PIL is a declaration that the indiscriminate detention of peaceful protesters is unconstitutional. Devre has also sought directions restraining the police from searching for, summoning, detaining, restraining or treating as suspects individuals named in FIRs that have been quashed.

The petition further seeks the preservation and production of police records and CCTV footage, disclosure of the legal grounds for the detentions, and an inquiry into the alleged use of force against protesters.