Delhi Police has issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the Congress party’s rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1, clearing the way for preparations at the designated demonstration venue in central Delhi.
The permission was granted after the police assessed the security arrangements required for the event. The ground is available for booking from October 25 to November 3, according to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which is the owning agency responsible for the land.
Central Delhi DCP Rajbir Singh said the Congress first approached the MCD to confirm the venue’s availability. After receiving the availability certificate, the party approached Delhi Police for the required security clearance. The police then issued the NOC on October 18.
“The Congress party approached the MCD to check the availability of the venue. The MCD stated that the venue would be available from October 25 to November 3. After receiving the venue availability certificate, the Congress party approached us,” Singh said in a statement carried by the source. He added that the police granted the NOC after discussions on the security arrangements needed for the rally.
The police said Ramlila Maidan, the CBD Ground and Burari Ground have been designated as demonstration sites. The approval follows the removal of Jantar Mantar from the list of designated locations for protests, according to the report. The change has increased the importance of the remaining approved grounds for political gatherings and public demonstrations in the capital.
The NOC does not itself complete the venue-booking process. The Congress will take the certificate back to the MCD, after which preparations for the rally can begin. The police also said that any other stakeholder or organiser seeking to book the ground may follow the same process, subject to venue availability and security assessment.
The decision comes amid continuing demonstrations in Delhi linked to the ongoing political dispute over the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, and protests by the Congress-led INDIA bloc against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The source reported that attempts to hold demonstrations at Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar had not received Delhi Police permission.
For the city administration, the approval places the responsibility for managing a large public gathering across multiple agencies. The MCD controls the venue and its booking, while Delhi Police is responsible for evaluating security requirements and issuing the NOC. Any traffic, crowd-control or public-safety measures will therefore depend on coordination between the venue-owning agency, the police and the rally organisers.
The Ramlila Maidan booking window runs from October 25 to November 3. The Congress rally is scheduled for November 1, with preparations expected to begin after the party submits the police-issued NOC to the MCD.
