A Tiranga March announced for Connaught Place on October 16 is facing a permission hurdle after Delhi Police said organisers had not sought approval for the gathering, while prohibitory orders under Section 163 remain in force in the area. The announcement came after two senior members of the Cockroach Janta Party were arrested and sent to five-day judicial custody for allegedly entering the Jantar Mantar protest site and waving the Tricolour.
CJP founder Abhijit Dipke announced the march on Wednesday, asking people to assemble at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5 pm. In a statement posted on X, Dipke said the gathering would assert that “waving the Tricolour is not a crime”. He also appealed to people to bring the national flag to the event.
Dipke said Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were arrested earlier in the day, were unlikely to attend the march. He added that he could also be arrested after the event, but said this would not deter him from participating. The announcement also encouraged people who could not travel to Delhi to organise similar marches in their cities.
Police said the organisers had not obtained the permission required for a gathering at Central Park. The report said that, with prohibitory orders under Section 163 in force, the prospects of permission being granted for the march appeared limited. The source did not specify the duration or detailed conditions of the current orders.
The arrests followed an incident at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Tuesday. A group of 14 people, including Ranka, Das and Ajinkya Shinde, allegedly entered the site through a narrow lane behind the Janata Dal (United) office. They reportedly climbed over a locked iron gate, unfurled the Tricolour and raised slogans before being detained by police.
Two separate cases were registered against Ranka and Das, while the other 12 people were released. One case was registered at Connaught Place police station under sections relating to disobedience of an order issued by a public servant, house trespass and criminal conspiracy. The second case was registered at Parliament Street police station.
The planned march places two central Delhi public spaces—Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar—at the centre of a dispute over access, assembly permissions and enforcement of restrictions. Central Park is a high-footfall public space within Connaught Place, while Jantar Mantar is a designated protest location that is subject to security arrangements and access controls. The available report does not state whether the organisers have submitted a fresh permission request or whether the police have issued a formal decision on the October 16 gathering.
The march is scheduled for 5 pm on October 16 at Central Park. The immediate administrative question is whether permission will be sought or granted while the prohibitory orders remain in force. The criminal cases against Ranka and Das and their five-day judicial custody are separate proceedings arising from the alleged entry into the Jantar Mantar site.
