MUMBAI: The National Human Rights Commission has taken cognisance of complaints alleging the mobilisation and involvement of minor children in the Cockroach Janta Party protest held at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on October 2, 2026.
NHRC action and directions
A bench headed by NHRC Member Priyank Kanoongo issued notices under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice over a complaint alleging the illegal involvement and mobilization of minor children in a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest held in Mumbai on October 2, 2026. The panel called for an Action Taken Report following… pic.twitter.com/vnxlZfDgdG
— IANS (@ians_india) October 3, 2026
The Commission directed the Mumbai Police Commissioner, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Grievance Officer of X Corp for India, and the Principal Secretary of Maharashtra’s Women and Child Development Department to act.
Mumbai Police must examine videos, photographs and social media material, register FIRs where cognizable offences appear, identify organisers and accompanying adults, forensically examine alleged group chat discussions about involving minors to deter police action, and submit a comprehensive Action Taken Report within one week.
X Corp and MeitY received parallel directions to preserve digital evidence and explain content moderation failures regarding child-related posts.
The complaints, including one from Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation, refer to posts showing a young child held above a crowd with the National Flag and placards, and to discussions that allegedly treated minors’ presence as a shield against police intervention.
Named individuals including Ajinkya Shinde, Abhijit Dipke and Saurav Das face scrutiny of their roles.
Social Media Evidence of Minors at Protests
Videos circulating on X show young participants, including those described as around 14 years old, who appear unaware of the protest’s core demands.
One widely shared clip features a boy at the Mumbai gathering who cannot name the resignation being sought and states he is present simply because others are standing in the sun.
He is 14. He came with them. He does not know the issue. Asked why, he says because they are standing in the sun.
That is the briefing CJP gave a child. Dipke will still call the frame a verdict on the Election Commission.#BeAMachchharNotACockroach pic.twitter.com/gwv8qUzGyE
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) October 2, 2026
A parallel video records a 14-year-old who came because the group came and will stay until they leave, unable to articulate the issue.
A 14-year-old at a resignation protest cannot name the resignation. He came because they came. He will stay till they leave.
That is Dipke’s crowd, stripped of the banner. CJP did not organise the convinced. It organised the collected.#BeAMachchharNotACockroach pic.twitter.com/t6rGTsWHAK
— 𝙎 (@Alreadysad__) October 2, 2026
Another post criticises the practice of pushing 14-year-old children into protests and questions the use of minors as political pawns.
Yeh hai Kejriwal & gang CJP ki siyasat ka asli chehra!
14 saal ke bachchon ko protest mein dhakelna? 🤦♂️
Kursi ki siyasat mein itna neeche girna bhi theek nahi.
Bachchon ko politics ka mohra mat banao.#Delhi #Kejriwal #Politics #Children pic.twitter.com/I4I36c28dP— Vikas Kumar Raana (@RaanaVikas83663) October 3, 2026
Similar concerns about clueless minors appearing at CJP events in Delhi and elsewhere have surfaced in earlier footage from previous mobilisations.
Official Confirmation of the Notice
IANS reported the NHRC notice the same day, noting the panel’s demand for an Action Taken Report on allegations that minors were strategically used to deter police action.
The Commission has emphasised the need to protect children’s dignity, privacy and safety under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, while investigating any organised facilitation of their participation.
What does the law say?
The main law relevant to involving minors in protests in India is the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Key Provisions
Section 75 – Punishment for cruelty to child
Any person who has actual charge or control over a child and assaults, abandons, abuses, exposes, or wilfully neglects the child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary mental or physical suffering can face imprisonment up to three years and a fine of up to ₹1 lakh (higher punishment in aggravated cases involving serious harm). This can apply if organisers, parents, or accompanying adults expose minors to risk at a protest (crowds, potential police action, heat, etc.).
Section 83(2) – Use of child by adults for illegal activities
Any adult or adult group that uses children for illegal activities (individually or as a gang) faces rigorous imprisonment up to seven years and a fine of up to ₹5 lakh.
This is the provision most directly cited by the NHRC in the current CJP Mumbai case. It becomes relevant if the protest itself is unauthorised or unlawful, and adults deliberately bring or mobilise minors (especially if their presence is used as a “shield” against police action).
