Jantar Mantar denotified as protest site based on SC order: police to High Court

The Delhi police on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that the decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site was taken based on the Supreme Court’s directions.

Representing the police, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told Justice Amit Mahajan, who was hearing a plea by the Indian Youth Congress seeking permission to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar, that the “entire petition is about peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar. All other prayers flow from it. Today, we have denotified Jantar Mantar pursuant to orders of the Supreme Court”. He added that a plea had been filed in the apex court challenging the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a protest site.

Sidharth Luthra, the counsel for the petitioner, said he would amend the plea in view of the development and urged the court to seek the police’s stand on the other plea, which is against “automatic, mechanical, unguided or disproportionate prohibition of peaceful assembly”.

It also challenges the requirement to apply for a protest at least 10 days before the proposed date.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters from several youth organisations staged demonstrations in Connaught Place against the decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a protest site.

The outfits included Bhim Army, Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India and Disha Students’ Organisation (DSO).

‘Reclaim Jantar Mantar’

Two other outfits — the Students’ Federation of India and the Democratic Youth Federation of India — condemned the order in a joint statement, denouncing the “blow to democratic dissent and the constitutional right to peaceful assembly”. They would mobilise the youth and democratic forces to “reclaim Jantar Mantar”, it added.

“Jantar Mantar belongs to people. Denotifying it as a protest site would not stop the public from protesting there. The government wants to send protesters off to places such as Burari far away from Parliament,” said Naureen from DSO. “It is time for all organisations to come together on the issue,” said Chiranshu from Naujawan Bharat Sabha.