Delhi Police’s NSA powers were renewed routinely from July 19 to October 18.
Police denied that the order was issued to suppress the CJP protests.
The notification allows preventive detention only when legal conditions are satisfied.
The Delhi Police Commissioner has been authorised to exercise preventive detention powers under the National Security Act, 1980, for three months, but the order is not a fresh measure introduced in response to the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party protests.
The authorisation, issued through the Delhi government’s Home Department under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor, came into effect on July 19 and will remain valid until October 18, 2026. Delhi Police has described it as a routine administrative renewal that takes place every three months.
The clarification followed media reports linking the notification to the intensifying student protests in central Delhi. Police said the renewal order had been issued on July 7, before the latest escalation in the agitation, and that no special request for NSA powers was made in connection with the protests.
What Does The Notification Say?
The notification authorises the Delhi Police Commissioner to act as a detaining authority under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act.
It was issued by the Home (Police-II) Department of the Delhi government under Section 3(3), read with Section 2(e) of the NSA. The order was signed by Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Secretary in the Home Department.
The authorisation allows the Police Commissioner to issue preventive detention orders in individual cases where the legal conditions prescribed under the Act are considered to have been met.
It does not impose the NSA across Delhi automatically, introduce new restrictions or mean that every person participating in a protest can be detained under the law.
The order will remain operational until October 18 unless it is modified or withdrawn earlier.
Is The Order Connected To The CJP Protests?
Delhi Police has denied that the authorisation was granted to suppress the Cockroach Janta Party-led agitation.
“It has been reported by several media houses that, in order to quell the CJP protests, the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, has been granted powers of detention under the National Security Act (NSA),” Delhi Police said in a statement on Thursday, July 23.
The police said the present renewal was issued on July 7 for the period between July 19 and October 18, “well before the commencement” of the recent escalation in protests.
It further clarified that no specific request was made in the context of the ongoing agitation. According to the police, the notification is part of a routine administrative process and has been interpreted out of context in some reports.
Therefore, the order does not represent a fresh decision by the Centre to grant special NSA powers to Delhi Police because of the CJP protest. It is a periodic delegation of powers issued through the Delhi government’s Home Department under the Lieutenant Governor’s authority.
What Is The National Security Act?
The National Security Act, 1980, is a preventive detention law that allows authorities to detain an individual without immediately initiating conventional criminal prosecution in certain specified circumstances.
The law may be invoked against a person suspected of acting in a manner prejudicial to the security of the state, the maintenance of public order or the maintenance of supplies and services considered essential to the community.
Preventive detention is different from detention following the registration and investigation of a criminal offence. Its stated purpose is to prevent an anticipated act rather than punish a person after an offence has been established.
However, detention orders under the NSA are subject to procedures and safeguards prescribed under the law. The latest notification only designates the Delhi Police Commissioner as an authority capable of exercising those powers. It does not itself order the detention of any individual.
Why Has The Notification Drawn Attention?
The timing of the order has attracted scrutiny because it overlaps with a period of heightened confrontation between security personnel and protesters in central Delhi.
Fresh violence was reported near Sansad Marg late on Wednesday night after protesters and security personnel clashed close to the Jantar Mantar protest site. The confrontation reportedly took place near The Park hotel after demonstrators spilled onto the road.
Security personnel, including Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force, fired tear gas shells as some protesters allegedly pelted stones and chased police personnel towards a main road leading to Connaught Place. Internet services were subsequently suspended in parts of central Delhi.
Against this backdrop, the NSA notification was interpreted by some as an attempt to expand police powers during the agitation. Delhi Police, however, has maintained that the authorisation followed the regular renewal cycle and was not sought in response to the violence.
CJP Protest
The Cockroach Janta Party was started by Boston University graduate Abhijeet Dipke as a satirical social media campaign following a remark attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in May.
It subsequently developed into a youth-led movement focusing on alleged examination irregularities and failures in the country’s recruitment and education systems. Protesters have been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The CJP began its protest at Jantar Mantar on June 20. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the agitation on June 28 and announced an indefinite hunger strike.
The protest intensified after Wangchuk was allegedly forcibly taken to Safdarjung Hospital as his health deteriorated. Subsequent marches, confrontations with police and restrictions imposed in parts of central Delhi have increased political and public attention on the movement.
For now, the NSA notification gives the Delhi Police Commissioner the legal authority to issue preventive detention orders until October 18. However, according to Delhi Police, the authorisation is a routine renewal rather than a protest-specific measure.
