Court orders release of seven detained at Goa protest

The Bombay High Court ordered the release of seven people on the evening of October 11 after their detention during a CJP protest in Panaji. The order followed police restrictions on demonstrators entering Azad Maidan.

The Times of India reported an urgent hearing and the detainees' subsequent release. The court noted the absence of prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the criminal procedure law and said the detention might not have been authorised.

The bench did not make a final determination on the disputed police action. Lawyer Norma Alvares gave an undertaking on behalf of those detained that they would not protest at Azad Maidan that night.

Earlier, police detained people arriving for a demonstration demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. Some protesters assembled on the road near police headquarters after access to the square was blocked.

Former Allahabad High Court chief justice Ferdino Rebello, who was also prevented from entering, demanded an explanation of the legal basis for the restrictions. Protesters oppose revisions to voter rolls. Their allegations of irregularities remain politically and legally contested.