3 February 2026
This form is to endorse a joint statement by civil society organisations condemning the hostile police crackdown on peaceful protests and the systemic repression of the climate justice movement in India. Endorsing organisations may be listed publicly as signatories to the statement.
Delhi is ranked the most polluted capital city in the world. Air Pollution in the capital region has been a cause of grave concern since the 2010s. It is a year-round problem with contributions from increasing sources of pollution such as vehicle exhaust, construction dust, open waste burning, light and heavy industries, diesel generator sets, dust storms, seasonal sources such as agricultural burnings, urban growth, fireworks.
The city this year recorded its most polluted December since 2018. The PM2.5 level averaged at around 211 micrograms per cubic metre of air during the month, way above the prescribed safe PM2.5 limits by India’s own National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has also averaged at levels, more than 30 times the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation. More than 200,000 cases of acute respiratory illnesses were recorded across state run hospitals in Delhi between 2022 and 2024. Residents across diverse age groups and social classes have been plagued with failing health, disrupted livelihoods and shrinking mobility.
The Supreme Court on 6 January 2026, heavily criticised the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for failing to identify the primary causes of worsening air quality in Delhi NCR and not providing long term solutions. The Supreme Court’s intervention comes days after civil society activists such as Delhi SSANS levelled allegations against the Delhi Government for manipulating air quality data. Independent investigations demonstrate that:
- Several of air quality monitoring stations in Delhi are themselves in violation of basic norms; located behind trees or beside walls, that obstruct airflow within the mandatory 20 metre radius.
- Public Works Department tankers have been spotted spraying water around air quality monitoring stations significantly distorting and manipulating data to produce favourable readings.
- Delhi currently has 38 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations but their placement excludes about 65% of the city from reliable air quality estimates.
- While the government announced a nine-point action plan and identified over 13 ‘hotspots’ as a response to the crisis. Investigations demonstrated that government’s claims have not translated to reality.
In the face of a straining lackadaisical attitude and blatant impunity displayed by the government in responding to the crisis. Between November 2025 to December 2025, hundreds of citizens, including activists, students and residents mobilised for over a month to demand that the air pollution crisis be taken up seriously by elected representatives. The protestors demanded a white paper detailing the pollutants, steps taken and best practices that can be applied and clear plans to reduce pollution.
Instead of establishing dialogue with the protesters and addressing citizens grievances- the government met the protestors with hostility.
- Campaigners of the protest, such as journalist Saurav Das, were subjected to intimidation by the police and threatened with legal action.
- On November 9, the day of the first protest, over 80 people were detained briefly and an FIR was registered against 7 persons, mostly students.
- On November 23, two FIRs were registered against 23 persons (one at Kartavya Path police station and one at the Parliament Street police station) under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including assault, contempt of public servants, disobedience to lawful orders, obstructing public servants, and other serious offences.
On December 9, 2025, a Delhi Court granted bail to 10 protestors arrested on the 23rd of November noting that, “nothing has been discovered against the accused protesters qua their membership in radical organisations related to Naxalites.” On December 26, 2025, the Additional Sessions Judge of Delhi District further granted 6 other accused persons bail, once again noting that the applicants had already suffered custody of about one month each and posed no threat to investigations.
Right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right guaranteed under Articles 19 (1) (a) and (b) of the Indian Constitution. However, exercise of this right has been increasingly met with brutal police force, including detentions and arrests, over the past few years:
- In 2021, the Delhi Police filed a sedition case against climate activist Disha Ravi for circulating a toolkit of a protest plan- endorsed by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. No part of the toolkit, explicitly or otherwise, endorsed a call for violence as a means of protest.
- In 2024, prominent climate activist and educator from Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk was detained for participating in a 1000-kilometre march demanding stronger environmental safeguards and greater say in local governance.
- Subsequently, in October 2025 Wangchuk has been detained under the National Security Act after he initiated a “climate fast” to demand full statehood and inclusion in the sixth schedule of the constitution for Ladakh. Hundreds marched to Delhi to draw attention to these demands and were detained at the borders.
Extreme hostility displayed by the state in Delhi, in the face of citizens exercising their constitutional rights to demand state accountability and redressal of grievances cannot be seen in isolation to the broader trend of growing ‘state-corporate’ nexus which seeks to sever ties of local indigenous communities to their land, culture and resources.
In light of the hostile police crackdown on peaceful protests and systemic repression of the climate justice movement in India. We, the undersigned diaspora human rights organisations;
- Stand in solidarity with citizens, activists and civil society organisations such as Delhi SSANS mobilising to demand accountability from the Union and State governments to enforce long term measures for a liveable national capital.
- Express our serious concerns about the alarming shrinking of civic space and routine criminalisation of protests against governance failures in India.
- And call for meaningful action to be taken by respective authorities to address worsening AQI in Delhi.
