Delhi Police file FIR after air pollution protest at India Gate

The Delhi Police on Monday registered an FIR after hundreds of people assembled at India Gate a day earlier to protest against hazardous air pollution levels in Delhi–NCR, allegedly violating prohibitory orders imposed in the area.

Officials said the FIR, filed at Kartavyapath police station, is against unknown persons for breaching restrictions under Section 163 of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), which is currently in force across New Delhi district except at Jantar Mantar — the only designated protest site.

According to police, organisers had been informed in advance that demonstrations at India Gate would not be permitted due to security and traffic concerns, citing guidelines framed in compliance with Supreme Court orders. Despite this, around 400 protesters gathered on Sunday evening, wearing masks and holding placards demanding urgent action on Delhi’s worsening air quality.

Police said repeated requests to shift the gathering to Jantar Mantar were ignored. “Section 163 BNSS was also imposed, and this was communicated to the people prior to the protest. Despite our requests, they did not leave the site,” an officer said.

Detention after brief clashes; later released

As the crowd grew, minor clashes broke out between demonstrators and the police. Around 100 protesters were detained and taken to Bawana police station. They were released later that night.

A letter issued earlier by the additional deputy commissioner of police, New Delhi, had warned organisers against proceeding with the demonstration, stating that protests at India Gate “cannot be permitted” under current prohibitory orders.

Environmental activist Vimlendu Jha, who joined the demonstration, said the protest was triggered by the capital’s rapidly deteriorating air quality over the past two weeks. “In the last 15 days, the AQI has been at hazardous levels. Many monitoring stations have shut down… we have also seen water sprinkling exercises merely to manipulate data,” he alleged.

“The government is managing perception rather than trying to manage pollution,” he added.

Calling the protest a constitutional demand, Jha said: “People are asking for their right to breathe. This is as fundamental as it gets — and asking for it in India’s capital is being treated as illegal.”