Twenty-four United Nations human rights experts have condemned the reported crackdown on peaceful, youth-led protests across India, raising concerns over police violence, mass detentions, alleged sexual abuse of protesters and restrictions on freedom of assembly. They have called on Indian authorities to end the excessive use of force, lift blanket prohibitions on public gatherings and ensure accountability for alleged human rights violations.
In a statement issued on October 23, the experts urged the Indian government to “respect, protect and fulfil the right to peacefully protest” and ensure justice for violations reported during recent demonstrations and previous protests. Their intervention comes amid reports of police action against demonstrators in New Delhi and other parts of the country, including protests against voter-roll deletions under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and government decisions concerning education.
The experts warned that the crackdown reflects a broader pattern of restrictions on dissent, including excessive force, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and the targeting of student activists.
“We have repeatedly alerted the Indian authorities to undue restrictions on peaceful assembly, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and the targeting of student activists, amongst others,” they said.
Over 7,000 reportedly detained; concerns over gender-based violence
The UN experts referred to reports that more than 7,000 young people, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and political party members were recently detained in New Delhi and transferred to detention centres far from the sites of protest. Their phones were allegedly seized and protest-related material deleted. Most were reportedly released after around 24 hours, including protest leaders.
Despite the reportedly peaceful nature of the demonstrations, police allegedly used force against unarmed students, including lathi charges, while preventing thousands of others from joining the protests.
The experts also expressed particular concern over reports of injuries, ill-treatment and sexual violence against women protesters, as well as other forms of gender-based abuse during demonstrations and related detentions. They called for authorities to address the gender-specific consequences of restrictions on peaceful assembly and the reprisals faced by protesters.
The statement links the demonstrations to widespread concerns over government decisions affecting education and the SIR exercise, which has reportedly resulted in voter-roll deletions affecting approximately 130 million people, including members of Muslim, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. The experts called on the government to uphold the democratic right of students and other citizens to assemble peacefully and express their grievances without fear of violence or retaliation.
Section 163 of BNSS flagged over restrictions on assembly
The experts also raised concerns over the reported use of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to impose broad restrictions on public gatherings, suspend public transportation and enforce internet shutdowns. Section 163 empowers executive magistrates to issue orders to prevent or address specified threats, including dangers to human life, safety and public tranquillity. Its use to impose sweeping restrictions on assemblies raises questions about whether such measures meet the legal requirements governing limitations on peaceful protest.
The UN experts stressed that restrictions on peaceful assembly must have a legal basis, pursue a legitimate aim and be necessary and proportionate. They warned that the reported actions implicate India’s international obligations concerning freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, personal liberty and security, and the right to defend human rights.
“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,” they said.
The intervention highlights concern not only over physical force and detention but also over the use of surveillance and communication restrictions to impede mobilisation and the dissemination of information during protests.
Experts recall March detentions and alleged enforced disappearances
The statement also recalled the reported detention of 10 student and labour-rights activists in New Delhi in March. According to the information cited by the experts, plain-clothes police officers detained the activists, held them incommunicado for more than 24 hours and allegedly subjected them to ill-treatment, threats, coercion and forced declarations.
They were reportedly released after habeas corpus proceedings were initiated. Such proceedings allow courts to examine the legality of a person’s detention and provide a judicial remedy against unlawful deprivation of liberty. By invoking these earlier incidents alongside the recent protests, the experts situated the reported abuses within a wider pattern of concerns over police conduct and the treatment of activists.
They called for an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the conduct of law enforcement personnel and affiliated forces, demanding accountability, justice and reparations for victims.
“The Government must guarantee non-recurrence and uphold the democratic right of students and others to assemble and express grievances,” the experts said.
Experts across 16 human rights mandates issue warning
The signatories include independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, among them special rapporteurs on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, freedom of expression, the independence of judges and lawyers, education, minority rights, privacy, torture, violence against women and human rights defenders. The statement also carries the support of members of two working groups: the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
Among those signing the statement are Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues; and Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.
Their statement places the reported treatment of protesters under international human rights scrutiny and calls on the Indian government to respond through investigation, accountability and guarantees against recurrence. Their central demand is that peaceful protest must not be met with disproportionate force, indiscriminate detention or measures that effectively prevent citizens from exercising their democratic rights.
The complete statement may be read here.
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