Delhi Police held ex-bureaucrat incommunicado for nine hours, Ashish Joshi alleges

Former bureaucrat Ashish Joshi claimed Delhi Police held him incommunicado for nine hours during questioning over social media posts about the Election Commission, alleging a violation of Supreme Court guidelines on detention rights. Joshi, a former controller of communications, was questioned by the Special Cell on Wednesday in a case registered under Section 192 of the BNS, which relates to provocation likely to cause a riot. He said police ignored his repeated requests to inform his wife, only allowing him to make a phone call at 6:38 pm. Joshi cited the 1997 D K Basu judgement, which mandates informing a family member upon detention as a constitutional safeguard under Article 22(1). He urged Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar to issue clear instructions to all units. Delhi Police had no immediate response.