Knockout punches are usually delivered in the latter rounds of a boxing match. In a similar vein, protests against the clean chit given to CJI Ranjan Gogoi delivered what can be called one of its final blows before the court rose for its summer recess on Friday.

Ever since Tuesday, organised protests and demonstrations held by various women’s rights groups and activists have been taking place in Central Delhi. On Tuesday, when protesters gathered outside the SC with placards and banners reading “No Clean Chit,” police authorities invoked Section 144 and took them to the nearby Mandir Marg Police Station to be detained. A few journalists were detained by the cops as well. On Wednesday, the scenario repeated itself, but this time outside Rajiv Chowk Metro Station. Undeterred, the protests entered its third consecutive day on Thursday, when 30 women protesters walked around Connaught Place peacefully, singing songs such as “Hum Honge Kamiyaab.”

But come Friday—which is when the Supreme Court rises for its annual summer recess—the protesters and the authorities levelled-up their game. Mandi House was the chosen location for the protest, which was scheduled to kick off at 12 noon. More than 150 protesters assembled outside the National School of Design (NSD) to take part in a peaceful protest march to the Supreme Court, but their attempt to do so was thwarted by the battalions of police officials deployed in the area. At least 200 police officers—most of them women—were divided into four-five squadrons and barricades were set up on the road to prevent the protesters from moving ahead. Two police vans were parked on standby.

As the protesters started chanting slogans and gathering in one spot at the mouth of the road, women police officers formed a circle around them, like a periphery, while the protesters spoke to the media and voiced their discontent with the way the sexual harassment complaint by a former Supreme Court staffer was treated.

They demanded a fair trial be conducted. At least 50 other police officers—all women—held hands and formed a line, preventing protesters from moving ahead. Behind this line was where steel barricades were erected. Within fifteen minutes of the protest kicking off, authorities took out a banner from one of the police vans; it read that Section 144 had been invoked. A woman police officer holding a microphone announced that the protesters should shift their demonstration to Jantar Mantar or else legal action would be taken against them. This was the first warning, despite which, activists continued their protest with their banners and chanting slogans. The energy was nervous as a clash between the two groups seemed inevitable.

With none of the protesters paying heed to the first warning, a police officer issued a second one, asking protesters to clear out the area. This too, fell on deaf ears, which is when the officers forming the circle around the protesters started pushing and grabbing them towards the police van. Screams, shouts, and slogans ensued at the same time as protesters were grabbed and roughly pushed into a nearby police van.

However, the women protesters stood their ground, which led to the authorities using even more force; some protesters suffered cuts on their arms because of the rough manner in which they were dealt with. The first van was packed to its full capacity with protesters who were taken to Mandir Marg Police Station to be detained for the fourth day in a  row.

A second police van came around and the process was repeated. What was surprising that even the protesters who were trying to disperse, were grabbed and shoved into the police vans. A total of 120 protesters were detained today at Mandir Marg Police Station by the authorities, and by 1 PM, the road outside NSD—which had looked like a battlefield just a little while back—was back to normal. The detained protesters were released by the authorities by around 2:30 PM.

As the Supreme Court breaks for its annual summer recess today, it will be interesting to see the direction and metamorphosis these protests and demonstrations take in the days to come. However, if there is one thing that has been made clear over the past week, it is that these women are not here to back down.