CJP Protest: Delhi Commissioner gets NSA detention powers; police says 'routine extension'

The Centre has extended the Delhi Police's powers under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, amid the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party-led protest against alleged exam irregularities and days after tens of thousands tried to march to Parliament to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the issue.

The CJP-led Parliament march witnessed violence, with several protesters and police personnel being injured.

According to the official order dated July 15, the Delhi Police Commissioner has been granted the power of detention under Sub-Section (2) of Section 3 of the NSA, which will be valid till October 18.

The order grants the Delhi Commissioner of Police, Anurag Kumar, the power to exercise preventive detention under the NSA for a period of three months, from July 19 to October 18.

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What is the NSA?

NSA allows the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India". The Act allows individuals to be detained without formal charges for a period ranging from 12 days to a maximum of 12 months.

And because, under the NSA, it is preventive detention rather than arrest, there is no legal obligation to present the detainee before a court of law.

A Delhi government officer said the power of detention under the NSA is routinely extended every quarter, and no specific request was made in the present case.

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Delhi Police claims 'misleading information' online

However, Delhi Police posted on X social media and warned that misleading information is circulating online claiming that the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, has been granted detention powers under the NSA specifically to suppress the ongoing CJP protests.

"In this regard, it is officially clarified that the order in question is a routine, quarterly extension of powers under the NSA, which is conventionally renewed every three months. The current renewal was issued on 07.07.2026 for the period effective from July 19 to October 18, predating the commencement of the CJP protests ," Delhi Police posted on its X account.

It further clarified that the request was not initiated in relation to recent protest events.

"The renewal constitutes a standard administrative procedure and has been misinterpreted out of context," Delhi Police said.