Indian Youth Congress chief moves Delhi HC against Jantar Mantar’s removal as protest site

Indian Youth Congress’s (IYC) chief Uday Bhanu Chib moved the Delhi high court against Delhi police’s decision to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site in the Capital.

Delhi police on Monday denotified Jantar Mantar as a protest site, ending its 33-year-long designation as one of the country’s demonstration hubs. They designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground in north Delhi, and CBD Ground in east Delhi.

While the first was spread across 12 acres and hosts thousands all year round, the other two are on the fringes of Delhi — 18km and 12.4km away from Jantar Mantar, respectively.

The order, titled “Guidelines for Holding Protests or Demonstrations in Delhi”, said the Union ministry of home affairs constituted a committee to “examine alternative proper venues for citizen’s right for organising protest/demonstrations in place of the existing ‘designated site’”.

“Based on the committee’s recommendations, Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified,” the order said, adding that three new venues were designated for organising protests and demonstrations.

The application has been filed in Chib’s petition against Delhi Police’s denial of permission for a protest at Jantar Mantar.

This was a day after the Delhi police told the high court on Tuesday that Monday’s notification was passed following a Supreme Court October 9 order earlier this month that nudged authorities to consider alternative, better-equipped spaces where residents could exercise their democratic rights without hindering public safety.

The Supreme Court on October 9 called for a rethink of Delhi’s decades-old arrangement of holding demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, recording that the Delhi Police commissioner and other competent authorities would consider designating an alternative venue with better facilities for peaceful protesters.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said the national capital needed a larger, better-equipped space where citizens could exercise their democratic right to protest without compromising public safety, access to emergency services or the interests of other residents.