AISA president Neha Bora has moved the Delhi High Court against a Delhi Police notice requiring her to execute a peace bond, with her lawyers seeking an urgent hearing and a stay on the proceedings. The challenge follows her preventive detention during a protest in New Delhi on October 16 and comes as authorities continue to regulate demonstrations linked to demands concerning the Election Commission and electoral-roll revision.
According to the All India Students’ Association, the petition seeks the immediate stay and withdrawal of the notice. The organisation said the notice is prima facie ambiguous and factually incorrect, and contends that it violates Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, which protect specified freedoms and the right to life and personal liberty.
The Delhi Police’s New Delhi District issued the notice under Sections 126 and 130, read with Section 135(3), of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The notice is dated October 17 but was issued on October 18, according to the report. It directed Bora to appear before the Special Executive Magistrate for New Delhi District on October 19 at 2 p.m. and asked her to furnish a personal bond of ₹10,000 with one surety “for keeping the peace for the period of inquiry”.
AISA said Bora’s legal team, led by Abhik Chimni, Pranjal Abrol and Moksha, would seek an urgent hearing before the Chief Justice. The lawyers would also appear before the Special Executive Magistrate to respond to the notice and inform the authority about the High Court challenge, the organisation said.
Bora was detained on October 16 while she was travelling to participate in the Cockroach Janata Party’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march. She was released on October 17. The protest was held against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with demonstrators demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The reported demands also included withdrawal of the revision exercise and repeal of the 2023 law governing appointments to the Election Commission.
The dispute places the peace bond mechanism within a wider pattern of preventive restrictions used around demonstrations in the capital. AISA alleged that the Delhi Police had repeatedly used Section 163 of the BNSS, formerly Section 144, during the protests. It also alleged that more than 40,000 paramilitary personnel had been deployed, metro stations shut and internet connectivity suspended to contain the demonstrations. These allegations were made by AISA and were not independently established in the supplied report.
The immediate legal question is whether the notice provides sufficient clarity about the conduct alleged against Bora and the basis for requiring a bond. The next reported steps are the petitioners’ request for an urgent High Court hearing and their appearance before the Special Executive Magistrate on October 19.
