Facing criticism after videos showed policemen in plain clothes performing law and order duties during Monday’s CJP protest, the Delhi Police on Wednesday directed all personnel deployed to maintain law and order at the protest site to report for duty in uniform.

According to officials, the instructions were communicated to all units concerned, directing officers and personnel to wear uniforms while performing law and order duties at the protest site.

However, the deployment of personnel in plain clothes is not new during protests or large public gatherings. Personnel from elite units involved in gathering intelligence, Special Cell and some other wings of the Delhi Police are generally permitted to wear plain clothes owing to the nature of their duties. While several covert operations, such as intelligence collection, require hiding identities and impersonation, regular policing is governed by statutory procedure and judicial guidelines.

A retired Delhi Police officer said personnel in plain clothes are not deployed for such action. However, their deployment clearly showed that the police failed to anticipate the crowd.

The issue was raised after the CJP shared a video on its X account, stating, “Plainclothes officers carrying lathis spotted excitedly going to beat up their next targets. No uniform, no ID cards, just armed to protect Dharmendra Pradhan’s chair.”

The Delhi Police, on the other hand, claimed that protesters attacked several personnel with stones and vandalised police vehicles.