The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced a ten‑hour suspension of mobile internet services on Saturday, 10 October, affecting a 500‑metre radius around eight makeshift detention centres in Delhi. The order, issued under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and the Telecommunications (Temporary Suspension of Services) Rules, 2024, was aimed at preventing public safety risks and the potential for incitement to offences.
Delhi Police had converted several sports complexes and community centres into temporary holding facilities to deter protesters from assembling at Jantar Mantar. Roughly 2,500 protestors were detained from various locations and later released that same day.
The MHA directive, released on 9 October, specified that the suspension would run from 12 noon to 10 p.m. on 10 October. The Union Home Secretary justified the measure as necessary in the interest of public safety, averting a public emergency, and maintaining order.
The eight sites covered by the ban include Chhatrasaal Stadium in Model Town, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana, Yamuna Sports Complex, Jasola Sports Complex, Community Centre in Daulatpur, Community Centre in Pandwala Khurd, Jangli Ram Stadium in Nizampur, Kanjhawala, and Surajmal Stadium in Nangloi.
These venues were being used as temporary detention centres amid heightened security arrangements ahead of a planned protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The order directed the Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police, to enforce the suspension of all mobile internet technologies within the specified radius during the stated hours on 10 October.
