Delhi Closes Central Park Ahead of CJP Flag March as High Court Declines to Block Gathering

The New Delhi Municipal Council closed Central Park in Connaught Place to the public on 16 and 17 October 2026, citing administrative reasons. The notice, dated 15 October, comes ahead of a planned Lehra Do Tiranga march by the Cockroach Janta Party at 5 p.m. on Friday. The party is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The Delhi High Court on 15 October refused to restrain CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke from holding the gathering. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma recorded Delhi Police's assurance that it would take steps under the law to regulate the event. The petition had been filed by a Palika Bazar street vendor who argued that the march would disrupt business. The court declined to issue specific directions blocking the protest.

Dipke has called on supporters to carry the national flag to Central Park. He said that if waving the tricolour leads to jail, the party is ready. The call follows the detention of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were sent to five days of judicial custody after entering the denotified Jantar Mantar protest site and raising slogans. Mumbai Police have separately granted permission for a related one-day protest at Azad Maidan on the same day.

Delhi Police said it may allow a select group to wave the flag and sing the national anthem at a suitable location, even as prohibitory orders remain in force around Connaught Place. Paramilitary companies have been deployed and barricades set up. Police sources noted that Connaught Place is not a designated protest site and that Jantar Mantar has been removed from the list of approved venues. Designated sites now include Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground.

The CJP has framed the march as a defense of voting rights and a response to the arrests. Dipke has appealed to political parties and civil society groups to join regardless of ideology. Earlier protests by the group led to traffic diversions and metro station closures in central Delhi. Similar measures are expected on 16 October.

The underlying dispute concerns the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. Opposition parties and the CJP allege large-scale deletions. The Election Commission maintains that the exercise removes deceased, shifted, and duplicate entries. The Supreme Court has issued notices on related petitions filed by Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders and has advanced a hearing on disclosure of notices in Delhi to 28 October.

For residents and traders around Connaught Place, the practical effect is a closed park and heightened security for two days. For the CJP, the march is the next step after the Jantar Mantar arrests. Whether the gathering proceeds at the announced location or is redirected will depend on police deployment and any further court orders.