The action came after several dozen Delhi Police personnel, including ACP Manasvi Vashisth, gathered outside the police headquarters on Monday. Vashisth had recently been transferred to Gandhi Nagar. The protesting personnel wanted to meet Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar over the recent confrontation with lawyers in Shahdara, East Delhi.
ACP Vashisth and Shahdara Police Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Arun Kumar had been transferred following an assault case involving lawyer Lalit Bansal. Lawyers across the city had launched an indefinite strike against the police action. Last week, the protesting lawyers alleged that the ACP and SHO had threatened lawyers who visited the police station demanding action against the accused in the attack on Bansal.
On Monday, while leading the demonstration, Vashisth said their demand was to meet the Police Commissioner.
Amid slogans of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Police Ekta Zindabad", Vashisth said, "Our demands are clear. We want to meet the Police Commissioner. There should be a standard operating procedure (SOP) for dealing with such situations. If this happens to us, how will we fight for the safety of the people of the city?"
Nearly 100 male and female police personnel gathered outside the police headquarters on Monday before entering the premises and staging an unprecedented sit-in. Senior officers were taken by surprise and asked the protesting personnel not to "behave like protesters". The demonstration was against the transfers of the two officers.
A video clip of the conversation between the police personnel has gone viral on social media. Reposting the video on X, prominent fact-checker Mohammed Zubair wrote, "Hope Neha Bora will support and join this protest by Delhi Police officers."
Responding to Zubair's post, Neha Bora wrote, "I wonder if you protest in support of Delhi Police, against Delhi Police itself, and that too in an area where Delhi Police has imposed Section 163, will you be detained?"
A former Delhi Police Commissioner told the Kolkata-based English daily The Telegraph, "This is the first time we have seen police personnel enter the headquarters and openly protest inside the premises."
The dramatic confrontation within the police force also drew sarcastic reactions from leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and opposition parties.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra posted on X, "Hello Delhi Police, I am in Bengal, otherwise I would have joined today's Police versus Police protest. How much fun!"
She added, "Which group of Delhi Police is being lathi-charged today and packed into rickety buses to be taken to the detention camp in Delhi Cantt? Tell us, we will send them food through Swiggy."
CJP co-convenor Saurav Das posted, "Will these police personnel be forced to sign bonds to maintain peace on charges of disturbing public order?"
The protesters, most of whom belonged to the North-East District, began assembling outside the police headquarters at around 8 am. The area is barely two kilometres from Parliament, and protests are not permitted there.
The personnel carried placards demanding the cancellation of the transfers of ACP Manasvi Vashisth of the North-East District and Shahdara Police Station SHO Inspector Arun Kumar.
Their own colleagues stopped them at the headquarters gate, while security arrangements around the premises were tightened.
Leading the protest, ACP Vashisth indicated that lawyers were responsible for the alleged violence.
"If we are not safe even inside police stations, how can we ensure the safety of others? If we do not get justice, how will we deliver justice to others?" he said. His remarks drew applause from fellow protesters.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma reached the spot and appealed to the personnel to maintain discipline and not "behave like protesters". He asked them to come inside the headquarters and hold discussions.
At around 1.30 pm, the protesters entered the buildings and staged a sit-in, raising slogans in support of police unity. They ignored the instructions of senior officers, leaving the officials in an uncomfortable position.
According to The Telegraph, Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and all Special Commissioners of Police also reached the headquarters and invited the protesters for discussions. The meeting, described as a "Sampark Sabha", began at around 5.30 pm.
During the meeting, police personnel from other districts also started arriving at the headquarters.
The transfers of both officers were ordered on October 28, five days after the October 23 confrontation at Shahdara Police Station. A lawyer had reportedly sustained a head injury during the incident.
The lawyers alleged that a senior police officer had "waved a loaded revolver" and threatened them. Following the incident, lawyers at district courts went on an indefinite strike. They ended their strike only after the transfers of both officers were announced.
The incident has also raised questions about whether police personnel can publicly protest against their own senior officers.
Generally, Delhi Police personnel cannot organise public demonstrations against their superiors over disciplinary action, salaries, transfers or working conditions in the same manner as ordinary citizens. Their right to organise public protests is restricted under a specific law and associated rules.
However, police personnel can challenge decisions through prescribed grievance redressal procedures and legal channels. Their right to hold public demonstrations is subject to statutory restrictions.
The principal legislation governing these restrictions is the Police Forces (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966. According to India Code, the Act came into force in Delhi on December 3, 1966. Its objective is to restrict certain fundamental rights of police personnel to maintain discipline and ensure the proper discharge of their duties.
The law, however, provides a limited exception. A meeting called by an authorised organisation to advance its approved objectives and address matters relating to service conditions may fall within the scope of this exception. This does not amount to a general permission to hold public demonstrations on the streets.
The unprecedented protest inside the Delhi Police headquarters, the demand for the reinstatement of the two transferred officers and the subsequent suspension have brought the issue of police personnel's rights, internal discipline and grievance redressal into focus.
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