Jantar Mantar Protest Site Row Reaches Supreme Court

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Centre and Delhi Police's response on a petition challenging the denotification of the Jantar Mantar protest site, questioning whether the authorities had applied their mind to the suitability of the venue for public demonstrations.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices while considering a plea filed by advocate Swaty Singh against a standing order dated 11 October by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, which de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. The Jantar Mantar protest site has long been the capital's best-known venue for public demonstrations, and the order designated three alternative Delhi Police protest venues: the Ramlila Ground, the Burari Ground and the CBD Ground in east Delhi.

The bench orally observed that it would examine whether the authorities had applied their mind to the use and efficacy of Jantar Mantar as a protest site. "Was it de-notified because of some oral observations of the court, or was there an application of mind with regard to the site and its efficacy in being used as a common protest site?" the Chief Justice asked.

Supreme Court Probes Basis of Jantar Mantar Protest Site Decision

The hearing turned on a pointed question: whether the Jantar Mantar protest site was removed on the basis of the Supreme Court's own observations. On 9 October, the court had called for consideration of suitable spaces with facilities for protesters — but it had not expressly directed that Jantar Mantar be removed from the approved list. Delhi Police had told the Delhi High Court on 13 October that the decision was taken based on the Supreme Court's order of 9 October.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, however, clarified before the top court that the earlier Supreme Court decision was not the basis for the denotification. "The Court's judgment is not the basis of the decision. The committee was constituted much before. The committee has given a detailed report," Mehta said, adding that there were recorded reasons.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, sought restoration of the notification designating Jantar Mantar as a protest site, pointing out that the de-notification had been stated to be in terms of an earlier Supreme Court order.

Jantar Mantar Protest Site: Right to Protest Takes Centre Stage

Senior advocate Mukta Gupta, also appearing for the petitioner, stressed the fundamental rights of citizens to peaceful assembly. "The fundamental right of a citizen to carry out a protest cannot be scuttled because this Court has already ruled in Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan that the place has to be somewhere near where protesters can be heard. New Delhi is not meant for a select few," she said, defending the right to protest as central to democratic life. For the petitioners, the Jantar Mantar protest site embodies that constitutional guarantee.

Justice Bagchi responded that the issue also needed to be considered in the context of technological developments, and said the court would call upon the State to answer the concerns raised. "We are issuing notice. We are getting a response from them. After the response, if we are not satisfied, the law will follow its course," he said.

Jantar Mantar Protest Site Replacements Face Legal Test

Under the 11 October order, Delhi Police retained the Ramlila Ground and the Burari Ground as designated venues but replaced Jantar Mantar with the CBD Ground, with a set of standard operating procedures for holding protests to be issued separately. Whether the Delhi Police protest venues offer demonstrators the same access to the seat of government is now the petition's central question, and the right to protest in the national capital awaits the replies the Centre and Delhi Police have been asked to file.

The Supreme Court was hearing a batch of 46 pleas related to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, protests in Delhi and alleged police action during agitations. The counsel for the petitioner demanded the quashing of the Home Ministry's order the same day. For now, the Jantar Mantar protest site remains in legal limbo, awaiting the Centre and Delhi Police's replies. Whether the Jantar Mantar protest site is restored will depend on how the court assesses those replies — and whether the law will follow its course.