India: Student protests met with arrests, excessive force, surveillance and harassment amid civic space clampdown

India’s civic space is still rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. The authorities persist in targeting activists, journalists, students and civil society through the misuse of draconian laws, arbitrary detention, censorship and the criminalisation of dissent. Over the past year, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), counterterrorism provisions and public order regulations have been consistently deployed to silence government critics, restrict civil society, and deter peaceful protests.

On 29th July, the country was added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist due to serious decline in respect for civic space in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.

Among the violations documented was the crackdown on protests by the Cockroach Janta Party, with excessive force and arrests. Surveillance, internet restrictions, harassment and the targeting of online dissent were also reported. At the same time, an indigenous activist was arrested, new restrictive amendments to the foreign funding law were introduced and activists were denied bail. Meta initiated takedown of anti-government posts and accounts while a talk by an academic was cancelled due to threats

Peaceful Assembly

Crackdown on student protests

On 20th July 2026, security forces used tear gas and batons to suppress largely peaceful student and youth protests in New Delhi.

The “Cockroach Janta Party,” (CJP) a Gen Z-led movement started after the Supreme Court chief justice compared unemployed youth to cockroaches. Since June 2026, protests began to demand accountability for mismanagement of medical entrance examinations grew to include grievances against unemployment and government corruption.

The demonstrators had occupied Jantar Mantar, an 18th century observatory that is a prominent protest site a couple of kilometres from parliament. The protests gained momentum on 18th July 2026 after Delhi police forcibly removed the activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike since 28th June 2026, from Jantar Mantar and admitted him to a public hospital.

According to reports, police beat demonstrators with batons, fired tear gas grenades, or pelted them with stones. At least five individuals were initially reported to be hit by pellet guns used by the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised unit within the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed to handle riots and other public disturbances across the country. The police initially denied its use. Subsequently, on 11th August 2026, a new response to recent Right to Information (RTI) filings, found that at least 10 people were injured by pellet guns during the parliament march on 20th July 2026.

The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) has since made a submission to the UN Special Procedures on the use of metallic pellet guns by India’s law enforcement against the protestors.

In Bihar, where protests also occurred on 25th July 2026 in support of the Cockroach Janta Party, a viral video circulated of a policeman in riot gear ⁠running towards a group of protesters in the eastern city of Siwan, pointing an AK-47 ​at them and firing at least three shots in the air.

At least three protesters sustained gunshot injuries and were admitted to a private hospital in Patna. According to reports, the policeman has been suspended and a departmental inquiry ordered, according to the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Siwan district, Puran Kumar Jha.

An analysis by Alt News reported on 5th August 2026 found that police had fired at least nine rounds from AK-47 rifles at two separate locations. In addition, two separate instances of police personnel firing pistols were captured on camera. Geolocation analysis confirmed that these videos were also recorded in Siwan on 25th July 2026.

There were also reports of excessive force in Bihar.

On 24th July 2026, Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor invoked powers under the National Security Act (NSA) that allow police to hold people in administrative detention without procedural guarantees, including the right to be informed of the grounds of detention and the possibility to challenge it before judicial authorities.

Internet blocked, message app targeted and surveillance

Telecommunication service providers reportedly received orders to shut down mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi on 20th July 2026.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs also directed developer platform GitHub to remove or disable access to three repositories associated with BitChat, the open-source, decentralised Bluetooth-based messaging application that has become increasingly popular among student protestors. This was done under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, demanding the removal of the links. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) condemned this, calling the move "unconstitutional and authoritarian".

Investigations, arrests, harassment and ill-treatment following protests

On 25th July 2026, the CJP agreed to end the protests after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and government agreed that no fresh First Information Reports (FIRs) would be registered against protesters, and existing cases would be withdrawn.

Despite promises from the government that those involved in the CJP protests in Delhi and other cities would not be investigated or arrested, reports show that was not adhered to. According to the CJP, police cases were filed against hundreds of students in Delhi, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar, all states ruled by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP). Some were arrested. Others have had police officers visit their homes and allegedly warn them against participating in future protests.

The protesters have been booked under several charges, including Section 189 (2) (unlawful assembly) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 37 (1) and 37 (3) (power to prohibit certain acts for prevention of disorder) and Section 135 (penalty for contravention of rules or directions under Section 37) of the Maharashtra Police Act.

On 28th July 2026, it was reported that an FIR had been filed against an unidentified woman for holding a poster expressing support for jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam during the youth protests at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park. The FIR accused the woman of displaying “provocative placards with the intention of inciting unrest and disturbing public peace”.

Following warnings by the CJP that protests would resume, some of these investigations have reportedly been halted and protesters have been released.

A Delhi lawyer, Manik Gupta, alleged that he was assaulted and abused by the Delhi Police when he visited the Nizamuddin Police Station on 23rd July 2026 for the release of students who were arbitrarily picked up on their way to the protests. He said he was slapped, punched and illegally detained by officers at the Nizamuddin Police Station when he went there to help detained students.

Joint Secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) and All India Students' Association (AISA) leader Danish Ali accused the Madhya Pradesh Police of harassing her family over her participation in a hunger strike during the protest.

BJP supporters were also reported to be doxing protestors as well as making threats of raping and killing them.

According to a report on 13th August 2026, social media accounts targeted women protesters, circulated their videos, hurled abuse at them and published screenshots containing sensitive personal information, turning online trolling into outright doxxing.

Blocking and criminalising critical voice online

Following the protests, police said it was reviewing social media posts linked to the Jantar Mantar protest and may ask platforms to remove allegedly abusive content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders. Some are facing investigations.

On 27th July 2026, Delhi Police directed multiple social media platforms to remove posts and videos containing offensive and abusive remarks against the Prime Minister that were uploaded during the student protests.

On 29th July 2026, it was reported that Delhi Police have issued notices to a number of social media accounts, including those of some news portals, over abusive posts targeting Modi and security forces during student protests in the capital and elsewhere. Notices have been issued to X accounts by the police seeking information about individuals who used abusive language in their posts.

Delhi Police had earlier said they had identified more than 400 social media handles allegedly linked to Pakistan that were actively circulating fake narratives, rumours and deepfake videos related to the demonstrations.

The Delhi Police registered an FIR against X on 29th July 2026 for allegedly objectionable and defamatory posts about Modi on the social media platform. A case has been registered at the Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit under charges of criminal intimidation, public mischief and defamation.

On 30th July 2026, a woman who purportedly used expletives against Modi during the protests was booked. The FIR was filed on 29th July under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 352 (intentional insults meant to provoke a breach of the public peace), 353(1) (making statements intended to cause officers, soldiers, sailors, or airmen in the Indian Army, Navy, or Air Force to mutiny or fail in their duties), and 356(1) (defamation).

On 31st July 2026, police in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad ​registered a case against the head of Meta India, Arun Srinivas, over multiple videos posted on ‌the company's Facebook platform that depicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an "abusive manner”.

Supreme court defends right to protest

On 27th July 2026, the Supreme Court observed that the right to peaceful protest is guaranteed under the Constitution and cannot be denied, while indicating that it may frame an all-India protocol for regulating peaceful demonstrations.

The observations came during the hearing of petitions alleging police excesses, including lathi charges and the use of tear gas against students protesting over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and examination irregularities. The court said there was a need for uniform guidelines governing peaceful demonstrations across the country.

The court made it clear that the constitutional right to peaceful protest cannot be diluted. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said the “Right to peaceful protest is in the Constitution. Right to peaceful protest is absolutely guaranteed. That cannot be denied. Merely because there is agitation cannot justify police excess.”

Crackdown on youth protest in Jharkand

Police used tear gas, batons and water cannon to disperse thousands of youth protesters as they marched on the state legislature in Jharkhand state on 10th August 2026 over alleged irregularities in recruitment drives for coveted government jobs. The protests were led by Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on hunger strike for 10 days.

Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) preventing more than four people from gathering in one place were enforced 750 m around the assembly. Barricades and surveillance drones were deployed by the state government.

Students and unemployed youth in Jharkhand launched protests in late July 2026. The demands of protesters in Jharkhand include an overhaul of the state’s examination system, cancellation of some tests and an investigation by the federal police.

Association

Indigenous activist arrested after protesting hotel project

Dozens of police officers arrested the prominent Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley on 13th July 2026.

Police surrounded the house where Doley was staying and took him into custody without an arrest warrant. His arrest, which was caught on camera, comes after years of campaigning against conservation-related human rights abuses, and plans for a five-star Hyatt hotel near the notorious Kaziranga National Park — built on land Adivasi (Indigenous) people have rights to.

Kaziranga National Park has long had a reputation for violence and brutality meted out by its guards against the Indigenous people who once lived inside it and have now been kicked out and live around its edges.

The planned Hyatt hotel has reportedly led to the eviction of over 45 Adivasi families and will affect the livelihoods of hundreds more. It is part of a wider plan by the Assam government to transfer vast tracts of land next to the park to private companies to build luxury resorts.

Survival International’s Director Caroline Pearce said: “Mr Doley has done nothing wrong and should be released immediately. On the contrary: he is the one standing up against the land theft, eviction and abuse imposed on Indigenous people in India in the name of “conservation”. These arrests are just one more example of this repression. The authorities must release Mr Doley and the others who have been arrested, and cease valuing conservation and tourism over the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples.”

On 31st July 2026, a day after a local court granted Doley bail, the Assam government invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against him, stating that his activities “are prejudicial to the maintenance of public order as well as security of the state”.

Under the NSA, individuals can be held without charge or trial in administrative detention for up to 12 months on grounds of national security and maintenance of public order. This preventive detention violates various due process rights, including the presumption of innocence.

Activists denied bail again

On 4th July 2026, a Delhi court dismissed the bail applications of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, accused in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 North East Delhi riots, holding that it was bound by the Supreme Court’s January order which had put a couple of conditions on the same.

As previously documented, the two prominent student activists have been held in prison for more than five years without trial. They were part of public protests against India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) — both introduced in 2019.

Police accused them of baseless charges of conspiracy and of orchestrating the February 2020 riots in the Indian capital and charged them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) anti-terror law that makes bail difficult to obtain, and under provisions of the Penal Code (IPC). They denied the charges and have unsuccessfully applied for bail in courts over the years. Over the past five years, their bail applications have been denied by trial and appellate courts.

On 9th August 2026, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) cancelled a student-organised discussion on a book authored by Umar Khalid, scheduled citing “non-disclosure of the full facts” about the programme.

New amendments to foreign funding law furthers restrictions

On 22nd June 2026, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs adopted the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules granting the Indian government sweeping new powers to police the activities, operation, management and leadership of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receiving foreign funding.

The amendments significantly expand an already restrictive legal framework established under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, which regulates the receipt and use of foreign contributions by individuals and organisations in India. It prohibits contributions for activities deemed to be detrimental to the “national interest,” an overbroad term open to misuse.

Since 2010, successive governments have amended the Act three times, most significantly in 2020, when the law was expanded to ban the transfer of foreign funds between organisations, to cap administrative expenditure and to require funds to be routed through a single designated bank account.

In 2016, three United Nations Special Rapporteurs jointly urged the Indian government to repeal the FCRA, warning that it was being used to silence organisations whose priorities did not align with those of the government.

According to Amnesty International, the latest amendments further perpetuate the Indian authorities’ use of the FCRA over the last decade as a tool to silence peaceful dissent and the exercise of fundamental freedoms and obstruct independent human rights work in the country.

Human rights defenders given bail

On 18th July 2026, a District and Sessions Judge in New Delhi granted bail to Kashmiri human rights defenders Khurram Parvez and Irfan Mehraj in a case for which they were arrested in March 2023. Khurram and Irfan were released on bail, subject to stringent bail conditions, on 22 July 2026.

While this decision offers some relief after 1,703 days of arbitrary detention without trial for Khurram and 1,219 days for Irfan, harassment through legal means against them continues.

According to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, the case in which Khurram Parvez, a prominent Kashmiri human rights defender, and Irfan Mehraj, a Kashmiri journalist and human rights defender – both associated with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) – have been granted bail involves trumped-up charges of “funding terror activities” and “propagation of secessionist agenda” in retaliation for their widely respected and recognised human rights documentation and accountability work through JKCCS.

This decision follows a 10th June 2026 ruling by the Delhi High Court, which granted bail to Khurram in another case against him, subject to 13 conditions including a bond of 600,000 INR (approximately USD 6,289), mandatory residence in the National Capital Territory of Delhi - 5,000 km from his home - passport surrender, and a ban on public statements. Since then, his legal team and family have worked urgently to meet these requirements to secure his release.

On 31st July 2026 Judge Prashant Sharma framed charges against Khurram under provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), UAPA and Prevention of Corruption Act. Parvez has been charged with criminal conspiracy and waging war against the state under the IPC. Under the UAPA, he faces charges relating to conspiracy, membership of and providing support to a terrorist organisation. He has also been charged under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly bribing a public servant.

Expression

Film on activist pulled after 48 hours

A film - Satluj - which deals with the life of activist Jaswant Singh Khalra in Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s, was banned by the authorities in July 2026, 48 hours after its release.

The film made its quiet debut on Zee5, an Indian streaming platform, on 3rd July 2026. Just 48 hours after its release, the film, which deals with Punjab’s bloody insurgency from the 1980s and 1990s, was pulled down mysteriously on 5th July 2026. Some viewers were reportedly even left hanging midway through the nearly three-hour-long film.

There was no explanation, just a cryptic statement from Zee that read: “In light of the current developments, Satluj will be unavailable in India until further notice.” It emerged later that the government had ordered the takedown using the country’s Information Technology Act that enables the authorities to block online content.

The order was made under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, read with Part 3 of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

Meta initiated takedown of anti-government posts and accounts

On 9th August 2026, it was reported that tech giant Meta has initiated a series of takedowns on a growing list of journalists, politicians, media organisations and political commentators who fund their content or accounts restricted, often with little explanation.

On 6th August 2026, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said Meta had restricted his Instagram account in India. He said he had repeatedly sought an explanation from the company but received no response.

Meta also removed posts by the news outlet The Wire on Facebook and Instagram in July and August 2026.

Posts by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) members and other protestors too have faced erasure from Instagram at a chilling pace. Fact-checker and co-founder of AltNews.in, Mohammed Zubair and political content creator Shrishti Khanna have also alleged that their posts saw takedowns and suspensions. The Indian Youth Congress, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das, and the news portal Scroll.in and The Hindu are among others whose posts have been blocked in India.

Meta has restricted access to The Hindu’s report in India on Kashmir pellet victim Insha Mushtaq from its platform, Instagram. Scroll’s Instagram post on the plight of Kashmir’s pellet victims awaiting compensation was also censored.

Software Freedom Law Centre, a non-profit legal and policy organisation has already documented more than 80 instances of protest-related content takedowns and account restrictions.

Talk by academic cancelled due to threats

An Independence Day event organised at an education school in Delhi, where Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor emerita Zoya Hasan was invited as the chief guest, was cancelled on 14th August 2026 due to security concerns, after members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) - an Indian right-wing Hindutva organization - gathered outside the school campus to protest.

Hasan was scheduled to speak on “Pluralism” at the event. However, school security personnel went to her home and informed her that the event was cancelled due to a security threat to her and the school. They further added that a VHP group reached outside the school premises and started protesting. According to reports, Hasan had been receiving hateful comments and threats on social media.