On 2 November 2019 a parking dispute at Delhi's Tis Hazari court complex turned into a clash between lawyers and police, with gunfire, burnt vehicles and injuries on both sides. The Delhi High Court ordered a judicial inquiry, moved two senior officers and barred coercive action against lawyers. On 5 November thousands of police personnel and their families protested outside Police Headquarters at ITO for about 11 hours, while lawyers kept Delhi's district courts shut until 15 November.
How it started: the Tis Hazari clash
On Saturday, 2 November 2019, an argument over parking at the Tis Hazari court complex in north Delhi escalated into violence between lawyers and police. Police vehicles parked inside were set on fire and smoke rose from the complex for more than two hours. Deccan Herald.
Police told the High Court 14 motorcycles and some Gypsy vans were burnt LiveLaw; PTI said 17 vehicles were vandalised PTI via ETV Bharat.
Police said at least 20 personnel, including an Additional DCP and two station house officers, were injured. IANS reported a police figure of eight advocates hurt IANS via Morung Express. At least one lawyer was admitted to hospital with a bullet injury The Wire, and later reports said the firing injured two lawyers Scroll.
Both accounts of 2 November
Lawyers' account
A Tis Hazari Bar Association office-bearer said: "A police vehicle hit the car of a lawyer while he was coming to the court. When the lawyer confronted the police personnel, he was thrashed." The association's secretary, Jaiveer Singh Chauhan, alleged the lawyer was "taken inside a lockup and beaten up badly", that district judges who went to the lockup could not get him out, and that about 20 minutes later police fired four rounds Claim · Tis Hazari Bar Association Deccan Herald.
In the High Court, a bar representative said six officers beat an advocate and dragged him to the lockup: "We have been attacked at our workplace" LiveLaw.
Police account
Delhi Police said lawyers "entered the police lock up and set it on fire" and that at least 20 personnel were injured in an "assault" by lawyers. "In self defence, the police had to open the fire in air. The circumstances of gun shot injuries to a lawyer were being investigated," police said Claim · Delhi Police Deccan Herald.
An injured security officer told IANS that lawyers roughed up a woman DCP and tried to snatch his revolver Claim · police via IANS IANS via Morung Express.
A crime branch Special Investigation Team was set up because complaints came from both sides, and four FIRs were registered on complaints by lawyers and police The Wire.
The High Court's suo motu order of 3 November
On Sunday, 3 November, a bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar held a special sitting on an application by the Bar Council of India (BCI), which argued Delhi Police could not investigate its own officers fairly LiveLaw. PTI described it as suo motu cognisance of media reports PTI via ETV Bharat.
- A judicial inquiry by retired Delhi High Court judge S.P. Garg, assisted by the directors of the CBI, the Intelligence Bureau and Vigilance, to be finished in six weeks LiveLaw.
- Transfer of Special Commissioner Sanjay Singh, who allegedly ordered a cane charge, and Additional DCP Harinder Singh, who reportedly ordered firing, while the inquiry ran The Wire.
- Suspension of Assistant Sub-Inspector Pawan Kumar, who allegedly shot at the lawyer, and ASI Kanta Prasad, who allegedly dragged a lawyer to the lockup The Wire.
- No coercive action against lawyers, and ex gratia of Rs 50,000 to the advocate with gunshot injuries and Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 to two others LiveLaw.
The BCI called it a "historic order" that addressed "police excesses against advocates" and asked lawyers not to boycott courts from 5 November PTI via ETV Bharat. Lawyers in all six district courts went on strike from 4 November anyway PTI via Deccan Herald.
The Saket incident, 4 November
On Monday, 4 November, a video showed a lawyer outside Saket court elbowing a uniformed policeman on a motorcycle and slapping him. The Wire identified him as constable Karan Yadav of Mehrauli police station, who had gone to carry out a court order The Wire. Two FIRs were registered against unidentified persons The Quint. The video galvanised the police protest the next day The Wire.
The protest at Police Headquarters, 5 November
On Tuesday, 5 November, police personnel and their families gathered outside the Police Headquarters at ITO. PTI called it an unprecedented protest in which thousands "laid siege" for 11 hours The Quint. Hindustan Times put the number at 2,000 personnel and families Hindustan Times via The Business Standard, and IANS said hundreds IANS via Morung Express.
Placards read "We are human in police uniforms" and "Protectors Need Protection" The Quint. Protesters chanted for a commissioner like former officer Kiran Bedi ANI via The Wire. Family members, some with children, wore black bands IANS via Morung Express, and in the evening families held a candle-light protest at India Gate The Quint.
Demands read out by a protester included cancelling the licences of lawyers who assaulted police, reversing the transfers, reinstating suspended personnel, better treatment for the injured, action against advocates, and a police association PTI via The Quint.
Commissioner Amulya Patnaik came out and asked them to return to duty.
We have to behave like a disciplined force. The government and the people expect us to uphold the law, it is our big responsibility. I urge you to resume duty.
Amulya Patnaik, Delhi Police Commissioner, at PHQ, 5 November 2019 (IANS)
The crowd grew after he left IANS via Morung Express. Late that night, Special Commissioner Satish Golcha promised a review petition against the High Court order and ex gratia of at least Rs 25,000 for injured personnel. Joint Commissioner Devesh Shrivastava said there would be no departmental action against the protesters: "All your demands will be accepted." The protest then ended The Quint.
Timeline
Police protest at ITO
About 11 hours outside PHQ. The Home Ministry seeks clarification of the 3 November order The Quint.
High Court declines to change its order
The bench calls the order "self-explanatory" and says its observations will not bind the inquiry IANS via Morung Express.
Strike paused, then resumed
Strike suspended; talks at the Lieutenant Governor's office fail; strike resumes Scroll.
Strike called off
Lawyers end the strike after a High Court order PTI via LiveLaw.
Inquiry still running
The High Court gives the Garg commission five more months; 338 witnesses examined PTI via Deccan Herald.
Both accounts of the standoff
Lawyers' account
BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra condemned the "high-handedness of the police" on 2 November Deccan Herald. After the police protest he accused police of making provocative statements against lawyers and judges Scroll. "Our fight is against only those policemen who fired at us and lathicharged us," a lawyer protesting at Rohini court told ANI Scroll.
Police account
Protesting personnel said action had been taken against police officers without any probe while lawyers faced none, and that their senior officers had stayed silent The Wire. "We want the court to hear us out as well," one said IANS via Morung Express. The Central IPS Association said "Police personnel are entitled to the same human rights as anyone else in the country" LiveLaw. Scroll reported that police registered five cases on lawyers' complaints but only one for the 21 injured personnel Scroll.
The Home Ministry and the Bar Council
The Union Home Ministry, which controls Delhi Police, received a "factual report" on the clash on 5 November. "A judicial inquiry has been ordered. Let us wait for the outcome of the inquiry," an official said Deccan Herald. The Centre was reported to be unhappy about the protest. "We can't allow a disciplined force to develop a mob mentality," a senior official said Government's position The Quint. The ministry asked the High Court to clarify that its no-coercive-action order did not cover later incidents LiveLaw.
The BCI shifted position. On 5 November Mishra wrote to bar bodies asking them to identify lawyers "indulging in hooliganism", warning that sparing "rowdy elements" could end in "contempt proceedings by the high courts or Supreme Court" The Quint. He later said the strike would go on until the two officers were arrested Scroll.
The High Court refuses to change its order
On 6 November the bench heard the Home Ministry's application and a Delhi Police plea to expunge its remarks on the firing and the two senior officers. IANS reported the court called the order "self-explanatory and needs no clarification" IANS via Morung Express. LiveLaw read the written order as clarifying that the bar on coercive action covered only FIR Nos. 268/2019 and 269/2019 of 2 November, and that its remarks were prima facie and would not bind the inquiry LiveLaw. The bench wrote:
They are but two faces of the coin of justice, and it is essential, for the rule of law to prevail, that they work in close proximity and harmony.
Delhi High Court order, 6 November 2019 (LiveLaw)
Outcome
- Protection for both sides: No coercive action against lawyers named in the two 2 November FIRs, and from 15 November none against the two booked policemen Scroll.
- Supreme Court: Scroll reported the court blamed both sides: "Nobody claps with one hand" Scroll.
- Strike: Ended 15 November. "The fight for an advocates protection act will continue," the coordination committee said PTI via LiveLaw.
- Commissioner: Patnaik retired on 29 February 2020. Officers told Hindustan Times that 5 November was when he "lost control" of the force. Patnaik said the issue "was immediately sorted out" Hindustan Times via The Business Standard.
What the inquiry found
The Garg inquiry did not finish in six weeks. In June 2020 the High Court extended its deadline to 31 December 2020, when 124 witnesses had been recorded ANI via Dynamite News. In August 2022 a bench led by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma gave five more months, recording that 338 witnesses had been examined and more were expected after forensic and ballistic reports PTI via Deccan Herald.
We found no news report or court order setting out the commission's findings. As of October 2026 they have not been reported publicly, and no court has ruled on who fired or who was to blame.
Questions people ask
Why did Delhi Police protest in November 2019?
Personnel protested after the Tis Hazari clash and the assault on a policeman outside Saket court, saying the High Court had acted against police officers without a probe while lawyers faced no action.
Did the High Court stay or change its order?
No. On 6 November it declined the Home Ministry's plea, calling the order self-explanatory, but said its remarks were prima facie and the no-coercive-action protection covered only the two FIRs of 2 November.
What did the Justice Garg inquiry find?
Its findings have not been reported publicly. The inquiry was still examining witnesses in August 2022, when it had heard 338.
Sources
- The Quint (with PTI, ANI): After assurances, Delhi cops call off nearly 11-hour protest, 5 to 6 Nov 2019
- The Wire: Delhi cops protest 'bias' in adjudication of clash with lawyers at Tis Hazari Courts, 5 Nov 2019
- Deccan Herald: Police, lawyers clash at Delhi's Tis Hazari Court, 2 Nov 2019
- LiveLaw: Delhi HC orders judicial enquiry on Tis Hazari violence, 3 Nov 2019
- PTI via ETV Bharat: Bar Council of India welcomes HC order, 3 Nov 2019
- IANS via Morung Express: Police uprising in Delhi: 'We want justice', 5 Nov 2019
- Deccan Herald: MHA monitoring situation, Delhi Police submits report, 5 Nov 2019
- LiveLaw: Cancel licenses of lawyers who were part of violence, demands IPS Association, 6 Nov 2019
- IANS via Morung Express: Nov 3 order needs no clarification: HC, 6 Nov 2019
- LiveLaw: Police v Lawyers: Delhi HC issues clarifications on MHA's petition, 6 Nov 2019
- Scroll: Delhi High Court rejects Centre's plea seeking clarification on order not to act against lawyers, 6 Nov 2019
- Scroll: Lawyers to resume strike today after talks with Delhi Police fail, 11 Nov 2019
- Scroll: Delhi HC stays coercive action against booked police officers till next hearing, 15 Nov 2019
- PTI via LiveLaw: Lawyers in Delhi's district courts call off strike, 15 Nov 2019
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Lawyers in Delhi's district courts call off strike, 15 Nov 2019
- Hindustan Times via The Business Standard: How Delhi police commissioner lost control of his force, 29 Feb 2020
- ANI via Dynamite News: Delhi HC extends till Dec 31 time for judicial commission, 1 Jun 2020
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Delhi High Court grants more time to judicial commission for probe, 17 Aug 2022