Geneva, October 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India has rejected concerns raised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) over detentions during protests in New Delhi, describing the remarks as misplaced and an unwarranted interference in the country’s internal affairs.
In a statement posted on X, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in Geneva said India was the world’s largest democracy, where the right to peaceful assembly was guaranteed by the Constitution and protected by robust institutions, an independent judiciary and a free media.
“As in every democracy, Indian citizens exercise this right subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order,” the mission said, adding that authorities acted in accordance with the law and that courts remained available to address grievances.
“The OHCHR’s concerns are therefore misplaced and constitute an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India,” the statement added.
The Indian mission also urged the UN human rights body to pay comparable attention to large-scale protests in other parts of the world, saying such an approach would be consistent with its mandate of impartiality and non-selectivity.
Earlier on Saturday, the OHCHR had expressed concern over reports of mass detentions in Delhi during large-scale demonstrations.
In a post on X, the UN Human Rights Office said it was concerned about reports of the detention of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists before and during the protests. It called on Indian authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly was fully respected and upheld.
According to police, around 1,000 protesters were detained across the national capital on Saturday while they were on their way to participate in an agitation led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Police had said on Friday that permission for the CJP-led protest was denied because the organisers had allegedly failed to comply with legal directions and the undertakings they had given during an earlier demonstration.
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