The Delhi High Court on Thursday, October 8, 2026, asked Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Parvesh Verma and the city police to respond to a petition seeking an independent investigation into an incident in which the minister allegedly slapped a man during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar on September 27. Justice Sachin Datta issued notice on the petition, asked the police to file a status report, and listed the matter for further hearing on November 17.
The petitioner, Sahib Singh, identifies himself as an associate of Tilak Nagar Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jarnail Singh and says he handles the legislator’s social media accounts. His petition, filed through advocate Onkar Roy, seeks three things at once: an independent probe into the alleged assault, police protection for himself and his family, and preservation of CCTV footage and electronic evidence connected to the episode.
What the court ordered on October 8
During a brief hearing, Justice Sachin Datta issued notices to both the Delhi Police and Parvesh Verma, directing them to file their replies along with a status report. The court also asked the minister to submit his response to the plea. The matter will now be taken up again on November 17.
The hearing was not entirely one-sided. Counsel for the police raised an objection to the maintainability of the petition — a procedural challenge questioning whether the plea can be entertained by the court at all. According to NDTV, the respondents also raised the same objection. The court, however, went ahead and issued notice, leaving the maintainability question to be argued at the next hearing.
The Tilak Nagar incident: what the petition alleges
According to the petition, the trouble began during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar on September 27. Parvesh Verma, who holds the Public Works Department (PWD) portfolio in the Delhi government, was inspecting road work when Sahib Singh began recording the proceedings on his mobile phone and questioned the quality of the road construction.
The petition states that the minister became agitated over the questions. Sahib Singh alleges he was then slapped, abused and threatened, and that his mobile phone — which contained video recordings of the episode — was forcibly snatched and damaged. He says the incident was recorded and streamed on social media platforms.
The petition adds a further claim: while a member of the minister’s security team pushed him and helped Verma leave the spot, the police officials present did not intervene.
Why Sahib Singh wants an independent probe
Sahib Singh’s complaint did not stop at the alleged slap. The petition states that immediately after the incident he submitted a written complaint before the Station House Officer of Vikas Puri police station, seeking appropriate legal action.
What followed, he says, was a campaign of intimidation. According to the plea, his private mobile number was circulated after the incident and the initiation of legal proceedings, after which he began receiving repeated abusive, threatening and intimidating calls, along with WhatsApp and social media messages from unknown numbers and accounts.
It is this combination — the threats, the conduct of police personnel on the spot, and what he calls an apprehension about the independence of an investigation by the local police — that pushed him to the High Court. “In view of the continued threats to the petitioner and his family, the acts concerning the conduct of police personnel and the apprehension regarding independence of investigation by the local police, the petitioner has been constrained to approach this court seeking protection of his life and liberty,” the plea said.
His petition accordingly seeks protection of his life and liberty, preservation of CCTV and electronic evidence, and an independent investigation into his allegations of assault, threats and police inaction.
Parvesh Verma: the minister at the centre of the row
Parvesh Verma is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who serves as Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister and holds the Public Works Department portfolio. The alleged slap occurred while he was carrying out a road inspection — the kind of visibility exercise ministers routinely use to demonstrate oversight of civic work.
The row has quickly taken on a political colour. The man at the receiving end is not a random bystander but someone who works with the social media operations of an AAP MLA, and the confrontation itself was triggered by questions about the quality of road construction — a subject the PWD minister is directly responsible for.
Sahib Singh has also spoken publicly about the episode. “The minister lost his cool after seeing me openly challenging his claims of the road work, and he kicked and slapped a youth in Tilak Nagar. I have filed a defamation case against minister Verma. He has seven days to respond to why he slapped a youth and apologise,” he said at a press conference earlier, as reported by The Times of India. That means the courtroom battle over the independent probe runs parallel to a separate defamation case filed by the petitioner.
What happens next
Three things now rest on the November 17 hearing. First, the Delhi Police must file a status report, which will give the court — and the public — the first official account of what the local police have done since the September 27 incident and the written complaint filed at Vikas Puri police station. Second, Parvesh Verma must file his reply to the allegations. Third, the court will have to deal with the maintainability objection raised by the police and the other respondents, which could shape whether the petition proceeds on its merits.
Until then, the petition’s requests for police protection for Sahib Singh and his family, and for preservation of CCTV and electronic evidence, hang in the balance. The petitioner’s core argument — that the local police cannot be trusted to independently investigate an allegation against a senior minister whose security personnel and police officers were present at the scene — is precisely the question the High Court will have to weigh when the matter returns next month.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Delhi High Court order in the Parvesh Verma slap case?
On October 8, 2026, Justice Sachin Datta issued notices to Deputy Chief Minister Parvesh Verma and the Delhi Police on a petition by Sahib Singh seeking an independent probe. The court asked the police to file a status report, asked Verma to file his reply, and listed the matter for further hearing on November 17.
Who is Sahib Singh?
Sahib Singh is the petitioner in the case. He identifies himself as an associate of Tilak Nagar AAP MLA Jarnail Singh and says he handles the MLA’s social media accounts. He alleges Parvesh Verma slapped, abused and threatened him during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar on September 27, 2026, and snatched and damaged his mobile phone.
Why is Sahib Singh seeking an independent investigation?
His petition argues that after he filed a complaint at Vikas Puri police station, his phone number was circulated and he received abusive and threatening calls and messages. Citing threats to his family, the conduct of police personnel at the scene, and doubts about the independence of the local police, he has asked the High Court for protection, preservation of evidence, and an independent probe.
Did the police or Parvesh Verma respond to the petition in court?
On October 8, counsel for the police objected to the maintainability of the petition, and the respondents raised the same objection. The court issued notice nonetheless and directed replies and a status report before the next hearing on November 17.