Delhi High Court refuses urgent hearing for Karni Sena’s protest plea

The Delhi High Court has once again put the brakes on a fast‑track hearing for the Kshatriya Karni Sena. The group wanted an immediate listing of its plea to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar on September 20, but the bench said no.

A division bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia simply asked the petitioners to file the case in the normal course. Once that’s done, the court will slot it in as per the usual procedure – nothing dramatic, just the routine of the judiciary.

Karni Sena’s president, Raj Shekhawat, filed the plea after the police turned down an earlier request for a demonstration on September 6. He argued that the new date, September 20, would be free from the security crunch of the BRICS Summit, which the police had cited as a reason for denial.

Earlier, on September 7, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma had told the Delhi Police to reconsider the fresh application and give a decision by September 14. The protest is meant to air grievances against the nation’s reservation policies and the newly‑issued UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 – the Sena even wants those rules withdrawn.

The police’s original rejection on August 28 mentioned heightened security for the BRICS Summit, traffic concerns and the need to keep law‑and‑order in check. The Sena countered that their rally would stay inside Jantar Mantar, would not spill over to the Bharat Mandapam venue of the summit, and they were ready to accept reasonable conditions.

According to the petition, the planned protest would run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 20th. The High Court’s earlier order, however, made it clear that it would not itself grant permission – that job stays with the competent police authority, which can impose conditions if it sees fit.

So for now, the Karni Sena will have to wait. Their case isn’t dead, just on hold until it moves through the normal channels. It’s a classic example of how protest plans bump up against procedural hurdles, especially when big‑ticket events like the BRICS Summit are in the backdrop.