UN Experts Urge India to End Police Crackdown on Peaceful Youth Protests Nationwide

The experts said the authorities’ response raises serious concerns about the freedom to protest and demanded justice for violations reported during both recent and earlier demonstrations.

UN experts have called on Indian authorities to stop using excessive force against peaceful protesters, expressing alarm over reports of police violence, mass detentions and abuse during youth-led demonstrations in New Delhi and other parts of the country over the past three months.

Students and their supporters have been gathering to challenge government decisions on education and, more recently, voter-roll deletions. The experts said the authorities' response raises serious concerns about the freedom to protest and demanded justice for violations reported during both recent and earlier demonstrations.

Students face force and mass detention

Hundreds of thousands of students and supporters have reportedly taken part in peaceful gatherings across India. Recent demonstrations have included opposition to voter-roll deletions described in information received by the experts as affecting 130 million people, reportedly from Muslim minority communities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

"Despite the non-violent nature of the assemblies, law enforcement agencies have reportedly deployed force against unarmed students, including lathi charges and have prevented thousands from joining the protests," the experts said.

Reports received by the experts indicate that more than 7,000 young people, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and political party members were recently arbitrarily detained in New Delhi and taken to remote detention centres. Their phones were allegedly seized and material connected to the protests deleted.

Most were released around 24 hours later, including protest leaders. Some protesters reportedly suffered injuries or ill-treatment, with allegations of sexual violence and other gender-based abuse during demonstrations and detention causing particular concern.

Earlier arrests point to a broader pattern

The experts linked the recent reports to concerns they had previously raised with Indian authorities about restrictions on peaceful assembly, excessive force, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and the targeting of student activists. "This crackdown reflects a broader, troubling pattern," they said.

In March, plain-clothes police officers reportedly detained 10 student and labour-rights activists in New Delhi and held them without contact with the outside world for more than 24 hours. The activists were allegedly subjected to ill-treatment, threats and coercion, including being forced to make declarations.

They were released following habeas corpus proceedings, through which courts can examine whether a person's detention is lawful. The experts' call for accountability covers these earlier incidents as well as the recent demonstrations, placing the treatment of people in custody alongside the conduct of police at protest sites.

Calls to lift blanket bans and investigate abuses

The experts expressed concern about reports that authorities had invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, India's criminal procedure code, to impose broad bans on public gatherings, suspend public transportation and carry out internet shutdowns.

They said the reported actions violated India's international obligations to protect peaceful assembly, free expression, liberty, personal security and the right to defend human rights. Restrictions on peaceful gatherings must have a legal basis, serve a legitimate purpose and be necessary and proportionate, they stressed.

"We call on the authorities to immediately cease the use of excessive force, rescind blanket assembly bans, and refrain from the misuse of digital surveillance, including through biometrics, and internet disruptions." An independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the conduct of law enforcement and affiliated forces must begin without delay, the experts said, calling for accountability, justice and reparations for victims.

They urged the government to prevent further violations and protect the democratic right of students and others to gather and express grievances. Investigations and protective measures must pay particular attention to gender-based harm, including the specific effects of protest restrictions and reprisals on those targeted.