The Delhi Police has formally stripped Jantar Mantar of its decades-old status as a designated protest site, replacing it with three alternative venues located farther from the capital’s power hub. The move, effected through a standing order issued on October 11 by Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, follows the recommendations of a committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The order partially modifies Standing Order No. L&O/48/22, which dated back to April 2022 and previously identified Jantar Mantar as a designated location for demonstrations. Under the new arrangement, protests and sit-ins must now be held at Ramlila Ground in Central Delhi, Burari Ground in North Delhi, or CBD Ground in East Delhi. Detailed revised standard operating procedures for the new venues are to be issued separately.

The denotification comes at a time of heightened political tension, with the Cockroach Janta Party and other groups staging protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision. Over the preceding weekend, thousands of protesters were detained in a security crackdown aimed at preventing demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from activists and civil society groups, who argue that relocating protests to more distant grounds will weaken the ability of citizens to pressure elected representatives and the media.

Activist outrage and constitutional concerns

Saurav Das, co-convenor of the Cockroach Janta Party, called the order unacceptable. “The Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. Did the Ministry of Home Affairs consult with the people? Were any stakeholders consulted?” he wrote on social media, describing the move as an “assault on people’s fundamental right to protest and peaceful assembly.”

Social activist Shabnam Hashmi, who has participated in protests since the 1970s, traced the significance of Jantar Mantar to the gradual narrowing of public demonstration spaces in Delhi. She noted that the Boat Club area near India Gate had once hosted large rallies but was closed to demonstrations after the 1988 farmers’ protest led by Mahendra Singh Tikait. Jantar Mantar then emerged as the primary alternative.

“Its proximity to Parliament and media offices was crucial. During a protest, we could get MPs to come out, speak to demonstrators and receive representations,” Ms. Hashmi said. She argued that the space available to protesters at Jantar Mantar had already been curtailed through restrictions on area and hours, and that the latest decision was another step in that process.

Long-time protester Bhim Kumar echoed the sentiment: “How do you exert that kind of pressure and make yourself heard from a venue so far away?”

Legal backdrop and public space contestation

The denotification revives a prolonged legal contestation over the use of Jantar Mantar. In October 2017, the National Green Tribunal directed a ban on protests there, citing noise pollution and lack of an executive order designating it as a protest zone. The Supreme Court set aside that ban in July 2018, holding that a complete prohibition was not the solution. It directed authorities to regulate protests by limiting participants, earmarking specific areas, and restricting extended encampments while balancing the right to protest with residents’ right to live peacefully.

Following that judgment, DelhiPolice issued the 2022 standing order allowing protests at Jantar Mantar within specified hours and participant limits. The new order effectively revokes that designation.

The police commissioner’s notice stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs had formed a committee to examine suitable alternative venues, and based on its recommendations, Jantar Mantar was de-notified. The three new grounds—Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground—are between 4 km and 15 km from Jantar Mantar.

What happens next

The DelhiHighCourt is scheduled to hear on Tuesday a plea challenging the closure of Jantar Mantar for peaceful protests. Counsel for the petitioner argued that no alternative site had been earmarked—though the police order explicitly designates three—and that the move infringes the fundamental right to assemble under Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution.

The court also listed a separate petition regarding the security crackdown on October 10 and 11, but declined an urgent hearing, noting that theSupremeCourt was already seized of related matters.

Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janta Party has given the police a 24-hour deadline to provide a date for a peaceful protest, warning that it would announce a march if no response is received. The DelhiPolice have yet to release the revised SOPs for the three new venues, leaving the precise conditions for demonstrations unclear.

For activists like Shabnam Hashmi, the battle over public space is far from over. “They may notify and de-notify places, but given the mood in the country, people will now reclaim public spaces. Every place in Delhi could become Jantar Mantar,” she said.

The denotification marks the latest chapter in the shifting geography of dissent in the national capital, a process that has seen protest sites move from the lawns of the Boat Club to Jantar Mantar and now to the periphery of the city. Whether the new venues will serve as effective spaces for citizen activism—or whether the right to protest will be further constrained—remains to be seen.