The Lakshadweep administration has introduced a prohibitory order to restrict protests and assemblies near key government facilities and infrastructure across all inhabited islands.
The order, signed by Shivam Chandra, IAS, District Magistrate of Lakshadweep, on June 10, 2026, declares specific "Prohibited Zones" where gatherings of five or more persons for protests, dharnas, demonstrations, or other forms of public agitation are banned. These zones include jetties (within a 150-meter radius), helipads, power generation stations, fuel depots, desalination plants, hospitals, SDM and BDO offices, the District Collectorate, and the Secretariat at Kavaratti.
The prohibitory order has been issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which empowers executive magistrates to issue urgent preventive orders in situations involving nuisance, danger, or an apprehended threat to public peace.
Notably, the order cites several recent protests across the islands as justification. According to the administration, on April 13, 2026, Amini Island saw leaders and workers of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) allegedly holding an "unlawful assembly" and marched towards the Deputy Collector's office, resulting in a scuffle, damage to the compound wall and gate, and the registration of a police case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and the Indian Police Act.
Another major incident cited in the order occurred on Agatti island on June 4, where around 100 Congress supporters allegedly defied the denial of permission for a dharna, obstructed officials, overturned barricades, and injured seven police personnel. Nineteen accused were reportedly arrested. On Andrott island, four Congress supporters allegedly protested at an IOCL fuel depot on June 5, restraining employees and disrupting operations. Another incident at the Kavaratti jetty on June 8 involved slogan-raising against the administration during the disembarkation of remandees in cases charged in the earlier protests. According to the administration, the protesters entered the jetty using valid passes before staging an "unauthorised protest". "No prior permission has been obtained from the police department or any other competent authority for the said assembly," the DM's order states.
The administration argues that Lakshadweep's compact geography—comprising 36 islands, of which only 10 are inhabited—makes these vital installations lifelines for the movement of people, goods, medicines, and emergency services, while also placing them in close proximity to residential areas. Any disruption, it contends, poses an immediate threat to life, health, and public safety.
Many islanders, however, view the measures as a further attempt by the administration to intimidate, curtail the freedom of expression and the right to assemble. The DM's order, meanwhile, maintains that the new restrictions are intended to prevent potential public disorder rather than suppress the right to protest itself.
The DM's order directs Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) and the District Magistrate to designate "Authorised Protest Sites" on each island. According to the administration, all protests at these venues will require prior written permission from the Superintendent of Police at least 24 hours in advance and must adhere to conditions including peaceful conduct, carrying no arms, a limited duration of up to four hours, and no obstruction of essential services.
The order comes amid ongoing tensions in the archipelago over land acquisition and demands for greater local consultation on development projects.
Notably, the administration has recently charged Lakshadweep MP Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed of the Indian National Congress (INC) with non-bailable offences in connection with a protest.
Speaking to THE WEEK, Sayeed said that he and several others had been charged for participating in a protest in Agatti on June 4. "The main issue we were protesting against was a notification issued to acquire around 1,21,000 hectares of land for tourism projects and to hand it over to large corporates and other big companies," he said. "Another issue was the indiscriminate use of Rule 56(j) under the Fundamental Rules of the Central Government to remove people from service. If they don't like an employee, or if someone doesn't comply with what they want, they're simply shown the door."
The MP said another issue was a new requirement for a land diversion certificate.
"Many people in Lakshadweep have taken loans, mortgaged their property, and borrowed money to build houses. They've already bought cement, gravel, sand, steel and other construction materials. Now the administration says that even if they want to construct a house on their own land, they must first obtain special permission from the District Collector," Sayeed said. "We consider these to be arbitrary and unjust measures. They are simply meant to harass ordinary people, and that is why we are opposing and protesting against them."
According to the administration, the permission request submitted by Sayeed and Congress workers for the protest was not in the "proper format" and was therefore not recommended by the DySP before being rejected. The administration alleges that, despite the rejection, around 100 Congress workers unlawfully assembled outside the Deputy Collector's office, obstructed public servants from discharging their lawful duties, used criminal force and intimidation against police personnel and other public servants deployed at the site, overturned barricades erected by the authorities, and attempted to forcibly enter the Deputy Collector's office premises. According to the administration, seven police personnel sustained injuries during the incident and underwent medical examinations.
However, Sayeed denies that there was any attack on police personnel. "The DYSP intimidated the police personnel and instructed them to go to the hospital and undergo medical examinations. The police officers themselves reportedly said, 'Sir, there wasn't any such incident. There's no problem. We even have people sympathetic to our party in the police force. There's no need to manufacture a controversy.' But the DYSP allegedly ignored them, saying, 'I'm under pressure from above. This has to be done.' So they took the officers to the hospital and had medical reports prepared,” he said.
"They then compiled all these medical reports and built a case around what was, at most, some pushing and shoving. We weren't carrying any weapons. We had nothing with us. We had gone there empty-handed," Sayeed added.
The administration has charged the MP and others under multiple provisions, including Section 132 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging official duties, an offence that is cognizable and non-bailable. The MP, who is currently in Ernakulam, is seeking anticipatory bail.
P.K. Saleem, a social activist and left leader from the islands, told THE WEEK that with the sitting MP facing criminal charges and permissions for protests being routinely denied, many islanders are growing increasingly desperate. “We are yet to see how this will evolve,” he said.
Although the current order has been imposed for 60 days as a temporary measure, many residents fear that the administration could eventually make it permanent. “They may present this as a temporary order, but there is a good chance that the administration will continue it. This is something they have always wanted to impose here,” said Saleem.
