Dipke announced the action on Monday in a post on X, writing: “Jail Bharo Andolan in Mumbai. October 2, Shivaji Park. #SaveDemocracy.” The move followed his earlier declaration that the organisation would resort to the mass-arrest protest if authorities prevented it from demonstrating at the venue.
The protest is centred on CJP’s demands concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the functioning of the Election Commission. The organisation has called for Kumar’s resignation, sought a halt to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and demanded changes to the legal framework governing appointments to the poll body.
Mumbai Police said permission was denied because it did not have the authority to approve a gathering at Shivaji Park under restrictions arising from a 2013 Bombay High Court judgment and a subsequent Maharashtra government order. Police also pointed to the organisers’ lack of permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for use of the ground.
The police communication cited Shivaji Park’s location in a residential and silence-zone area and raised concerns about noise, traffic congestion and disruption to movement. It said congestion could affect access to hospitals in the vicinity and advised the organisers to identify another location in Mumbai and seek the necessary permission there.
Civic officials have also said CJP does not currently have BMC permission to use Shivaji Park for the October 2 programme. No application for the proposed event had been filed with the civic body as of Monday, according to officials. If an application is submitted, the ward office is expected to forward it to Maharashtra’s Urban Development Department because of the restrictions governing use of the ground.
Dipke had criticised the police decision on Sunday, describing the refusal as an attempt to suppress citizens’ voices. He said CJP would continue with its protest plans and launch the jail bharo action if its proposed demonstration was stopped.
Police, responding publicly to his criticism, said the refusal was based on the legal restrictions governing gatherings at Shivaji Park rather than a prohibition on protest itself. Their statement referred specifically to the Bombay High Court order dated January 4, 2013, and a Maharashtra government order issued in January 2016.
CJP had announced the Mumbai mobilisation as part of a campaign against the Election Commission. At a press conference in New Delhi last week, the organisation demanded Kumar’s resignation and sought a criminal investigation into allegations it has raised over electoral administration. Those allegations remain disputed.
The Election Commission has rejected suggestions that disagreements within the institution amount to a breakdown in its functioning. It has maintained that differences of view can arise during institutional deliberations and that key decisions concerning electoral-roll revision were taken collectively.
CJP has also demanded that the Special Intensive Revision process be frozen and that the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners be repealed. Those are political demands advanced by the organisation and have not been accepted by the authorities.
The October 2 mobilisation now presents an immediate policing and civic-management issue because Dipke has named Shivaji Park as the location despite the denial of permission. A jail bharo campaign typically involves protesters deliberately courting arrest as a form of civil disobedience, but the precise arrangements for CJP’s Mumbai action, including expected attendance, have not been publicly detailed.
The dispute over the venue remains unresolved three days before the scheduled programme. The police rejection letter said Shivaji Park is reserved for sporting activity, subject to exceptions permitted under court and government directions. Organisers have not announced a shift to any of the alternative locations suggested by police.
