Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 12: The iconic Jantar Mantar in the high-security central Delhi area, can no longer be used for staging protests. The Delhi police on Monday de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site and instead earmarked three new locations as protest sites in the national capital, about fur to 20 kilometres away from Jantar Mantar.
Three new locations have been finalised as designated sites for protests and sit-ins in the national capital based on recommendations of a committee under the Union Home Ministry, the Delhi police said. The three new protest venues are: Ramlila Ground, about four kms from Jantar Mantar, CBD Ground in East Delhi, about 12 kms away and Burari Ground, about 20 kms away on Delhi birders.
The development came amid protests by the Opposition bloc INDIA and the satirical political group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in central Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the controversy on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The order denotifying Jantar Mantar as a designated site for protests was issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar.
“Based on the Committee’s recommendations, Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified. Three new venues viz Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground, East Delhi have been designated as new venues for organizing protest/demonstrations,” the order said. The police said a set of standard operating procedures (SOP) for holding protests at the three new locations would be issued separately.
The Delhi High Court, meanwhile, posted for Tuesday for hearing a plea challenging the closure of Jantar Mantar for peace protests after declining to hear the matter on Monday itself. The court also agreed to hear on Tuesday another petition alleging that “outsiders” had entered the protest held over the weekend and harassed the protesters.
A lawyer mentioned the matter before a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma, stating that peaceful protests were being quelled as authorities had not earmarked an alternative site for them. When the counsel asked the Bench to urgently hear the petition regarding the protest site on Monday, the court observed that the issue was also being looked into by the Supreme Court.
“Tomorrow. The Supreme Court is equally seized of the matter. Not only that, but the Supreme Court has called on the Union to file their affidavits also. Once the Supreme Court is seized of it, we have to see – to what extent we can look at it again. That’s why let us have it tomorrow,” the Bench responded.
The lawyer mentioning the matter told the Bench that the “right to free speech has been quelled to a great extent and that has enormous impact.” “Now today Jantar Mantar is also closed. There is no other place which has been earmarked by the executive to actually carry out a protest in accordance with law. Peaceful protests are being quelled today. This is absolutely going to be a black day. We have faced this in 1975,” the lawyer said. Hundreds took to the streets on October 10 and 11 after the CJP called a protest against the CEC over the alleged irregularities in the SIR.
“Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, had constituted a Committee to examine alternative proper venues for citizen’s right for organizing protest/demonstrations in place of the existing “designated site,” the order issued by the police commissioner said. “Detailed and revised SOP for organizing protest/ demonstrations at these three venues will be issued separately. This is in partial modification of earlier Standing Order No. L&O/48/22 dated 28.04.2022,” it added.
The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) has also sought a permission to hold protest at Jantar Mantar and moved to the Delhi High Court, which has sought time till Tuesday to the city police to respond to the Congress youth wing’s plea.
The IYC had approached the court challenging Delhi Police’s denial of permission to protest at Jantar Mantar. The IYC, through its national president Uday Bhanu Chib, approached the court challenging Delhi Police’s October 1 communication.
The developments come soon after the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Monday that peaceful democratic and political protests need to take place, but the “Supreme Court should not be dragged into it” or become a site for agitations.
“Democratic activities must take place peacefully, but the Supreme Court’s functioning should go on smoothly… We are not concerned about any political party… The court should not be dragged into anything. Protests should happen peacefully. There should not be any impediment or obstruction to the movement of lawyers, court staff, litigants… I am requesting,” Chief Justice Kant, heading a three-judge Bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, said in open court.
The CJI’s remarks come even as the Opposition leaders are expected to march to the Supreme Court as part of the anti-Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) protests on Monday with heavy security presence in the court premises. The CJI had on Sunday written a letter to the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi declining a request for a meeting on Monday.
The CJI’s observations came a day after Justices Bagchi and Mohana held a special Sunday hearing following mass detentions and a “curfew-like” clampdown on civil rights on Saturday. Senior lawyers compared the October 10, 2026 police crackdown in Delhi to the 1975 Emergency. The court had ordered the Union government and the Delhi Police to allow free and smooth movement of traffic, people, Metro and rail services “subject to public law and order.”
On Monday the CJI was reacting to an oral mentioning made by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), represented by its president and senior advocate Pradeep Rai, against the illegal detentions of lawyers and suspension of Internet. “We are doing our professional duties. They [authorities] should not interfere. I have made a statement that political parties should not bring the court into all this. They should be responsible political parties,” Mr Rai submitted.
Another petition represented by senior advocate A.N.S. Nadkarni, appearing for a lawyer, also sought the same protection. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, in a separate oral mentioning, said he was still waiting for the Bench to admonish the police to maintain restraint, “at least once.”
“At a time when senior advocates are being dragged through the streets, Mr Shadan Farasat (a senior advocate) was dragged on the streets. It was most unseemly and should not have happened. At a time like that, I know Your Lordships have repeatedly said we must try and cooperate and exercise restraint, etc, At least once I would hope Your Lordships to say the same thing to the police… That has not come from this Bench so far. I am hoping that happens,” Mr Sankaranarayanan submitted forcefully to the Bench.
The CJI reiterated that the Bench would not allow the Supreme Court to become a site for protests. “I don’t want to say anything now, but I am only requesting. Every member of the Bar has the right to be part of the protest wherever the identified locations are there,” Chief Justice Kant said.
The senior counsel is also seeking a hearing on Tuesday. He said none of the Section 163 BNSS prohibitory orders were publicly available. “Meanwhile, private hooligans are allowed by the police to beat up children, hit them on their heads. They later put out videos in which they proudly say that they have done that.
“The police does nothing. Instead, we are repeatedly told to restrain ourselves. I don’t know what we have done. I am shocked. A senior advocate is dragged through the streets. Two other senior advocates are detained in buses. This is extremely sad,” Mr Sankaranarayanan said. He said the Bench should “at some point” come to the rescue of the Bar and the citizens of the country. The court agreed to hear all three petitions on Tuesday.