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Is staging a protest legal in India: What rights, restrictions the law gives

Right to Protest in India: Under the Constitution, what forms of protest are allowed and what is barred? Is staging a protest at Parliament allowed? We explain.

CJP Protest: The crackdown on protesters in New Delhi on July 20. (Express photo: Amit Mehra)

5 min readNew DelhiJul 22, 2026 09:28 AM IST First published on: Jul 20, 2026 at 03:24 PM IST

CJP protest: The police cracked down on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and its supporters on Monday as thousands joined the planned march to Parliament. The gates of the Parliament complex have been shut. The government has also reached out to protesters, with CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das posting on X that they had met senior BJP leader JP Nadda and submitted a “written letter with our demands.”

Is staging a protest legal in India? What forms of protest are allowed and what is barred? Is staging a protest at Parliament allowed? We explain.

Under what laws is a protest permitted in India?

The right to stage a protest is protected under the Fundamental Right to Freedom. Under Article 19 (1) (a) and (b), citizens have the right to “freedom of speech and expression”, and to “assemble peaceably and without arms.”

However, these rights are subject to “reasonable restrictions” in the interests of “the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.”

Thus, while citizens have every right to organise a protest, it has to be done keeping the restrictions in mind. The general practice to regulate a protest in India has been to mark designated spots for it, make police permission mandatory, and impose prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (earlier Section 144 of the CrPC). Read our detailed explainer on this provision here.

Police action on CJP protesters in New Delhi on Monday. (Express photo: Amit Mehra)

At the 47th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2021, India’s representative had said in a statement, “One cherished and valuable aspect of the inclusive political life in India, the largest democracy of the world, is the tradition to express grievances through peaceful assembly and marches. Organised, non-violent and popular marches by the people of India was the key weapon in the struggle for independence. Naturally the right to peaceful assembly has been recognised as a fundamental right by the Indian Constitution.

Article 19 of Indian Constitution guarantees to citizens of India the right to assemble, peacefully without arms, and the right to form associations and unions. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution also guarantees the right to peaceful protest.”

He added, “While striking a careful balance between the enjoyment of basic rights by the citizens and its duty to protect the right to life of its citizens, the Government has always respected the right of Indian citizen to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”

What the SC has said over protests, and the limits on them

The Supreme Court, in various verdicts over the years, has upheld both the right to protest and the restrictions on that right. Here are a few examples:

Himat Lal K. Shah v. Commissioner of Police (1973): The Court held that, “Freedom of assembly is an essential element of any democratic system. At the root of this concept lies the citizens’ right to meet face to face with others for the discussion of their ideas and problems — religious, political, economic or social.”

The court added, “It is doubtless true that the State or local authority can regulate its property in order to serve its public purposes… But there is a constitutional difference between reasonable regulation and arbitrary exclusion.”

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v Union of India, 2018: A PIL was filed before the Supreme Court challenging the repeated imposition of Section 144 CrPC, through which a ban was imposed in Delhi prohibiting assembly and dharnas without written permission in areas such as Parliament House, North and South Block, Central Vista Lawns, and its surrounding localities and areas.

The court then laid down guidelines, such as regulating the intended number of participants, minimum distance from the Parliament House, North and South Blocks, the SC itself, and the residences of dignitaries. The court also disallowed demonstrators from carrying firearms, lathis, spears, swords, etc.

The ruling effectively reaffirmed Jantar Mantar as Delhi’s designated protest site, while making clear that regulation must not become prohibition.

Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (2020): This was the Shaheen Bagh protests case. In this, the Supreme Court held that protests must be held in “identified areas” and protesters cannot block public roads and cause inconvenience to others.

“You cannot block public roads. There cannot be indefinite period of protest in such an area. If you want to protest, it has to be in an area identified for protest. You cannot create inconvenience for the people,” the court said.