The Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) planned protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leak controversy is facing procedural hurdles even before supporters gather, with the Delhi Police on Friday confirming that the outfit has not sought permission for the demonstration despite days of public mobilisation and online campaigning.The protest, scheduled for June 6 at Jantar Mantar, seeks the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. But less than 24 hours before the proposed gathering, the police said no request for permission had reached them.“We have not received any request from them and we will examine it if and when they seek permission,” a senior Delhi Police officer said.Police officials said they were closely monitoring the situation and were prepared to deploy personnel in sensitive areas, if required, to maintain law and order. Officials also pointed out that demonstrations in the national capital require prior permissions and advance intimation under an established procedure.The lack of permission has become a central issue because applications for public protests in Delhi are generally expected to be submitted at least seven days in advance, excluding the day of the event. Despite publicly announcing the protest earlier and repeatedly urging supporters to gather, CJP has maintained that permission would only be sought after founder Abhijeet Dipke arrives in Delhi.Dipke, who has been leading the campaign from abroad, said on Friday he had left the United States and was travelling to India to lead the demonstration. He is expected to land in Delhi at around 8 am on Saturday, just hours before the proposed protest.In a post on social media platform X, Dipke said he had “left his faith in the hands of the Constitution”, presenting the protest as a democratic exercise.Amid expectations of supporters gathering at the airport, Dipke urged followers not to come there. Instead, he said he would directly visit Parliament Street Police Station to seek permission for what he repeatedly described as a peaceful demonstration.“We are law-abiding citizens and have to act responsibly,” Dipke said, asking supporters to ensure that no disturbance is created and discipline is maintained.The digital campaign around the protest has intensified steadily over the last few days. On Thursday, the X account ‘Cockroach is Back’ issued another call asking supporters to assemble at 9 am on Saturday.“6 June, 9 am — Milte hain kal fellow cockroaches. Time to turn this tiny joke into a revolution,” the post said.The account urged supporters to join what it described as a peaceful movement and called on followers to “swarm the streets of Delhi with peaceful and loving dissent”.At the same time, organisers repeatedly stressed discipline, cautioning supporters to follow instructions carefully. “But remember what to do and what NOT to do. All eyes are on us!” another post said.The uncertainty around permissions also reached the courts on Friday.The Delhi High Court refused urgent hearing of a petition seeking directions to police to deploy crowd-control measures at all entry corridors in anticipation of the proposed gathering at Jantar Mantar.The petition, filed by Save India Foundation, was mentioned before a vacation bench of Justices Saurabh Banerjee and Amit Sharma. Counsel appearing for the NGO requested that the matter be heard urgently, but the Bench declined the request.The court development came as Dipke was already travelling from the US to India to lead the demonstration, permission for which has still not been formally sought by the organisation.CJP, which began as a satirical movement after remarks made by the Chief Justice of India and later evolved into a broader digital campaign platform, has rapidly expanded beyond social media in recent weeks.The outfit formally entered public mobilisation this week with its first press conference in Delhi and appointed three spokespersons, investigative journalist Saurav Das, political researcher and filmmaker Vijeta Dahiya, and former management consultant Ashutosh Ranka.Its support base has also widened considerably online and includes several prominent figures. Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been campaigning on issues related to Ladakh, is expected to join Saturday’s protest, while actor Prakash Raj has publicly expressed support for the movement.