A planned protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar on Saturday has prompted restrictions and operational changes across central Delhi, including hotel check-ins, Connaught Place businesses, schools, university classes, courts and nearby metro stations.
At least six hotels in Paharganj, around 3-4 km from Jantar Mantar, received instructions from police personnel or messages circulated through hotel owners’ groups to restrict accommodation for certain guests before the protest. Hotel managers told The Indian Express that they were asked not to provide rooms to some students and young people arriving from outside Delhi, while one establishment reported being told to refuse guests with Delhi addresses.
The instructions have also affected people carrying local identification documents. A couple from Chattarpur told the newspaper they were turned away from Hotel Metropolis after showing identification with a Delhi address. The hotel owner said a message had been circulated among hotel owners asking establishments not to allow such guests. Another hotel staff member said establishments had been instructed to refuse large groups.
In Connaught Place, the New Delhi Traders Association has advised shops, offices and restaurants to remain closed on Saturday. In an urgent advisory circular, NDTA president Atul Bhargava referred to advice from authorities and described the decision as a precautionary safety measure amid what it called the critical situation around the commercial district. The circular asked establishments to cooperate to avoid possible property damage and injuries.
Schools in and around central Delhi have changed their schedules. Sanskriti School in Chanakyapuri cancelled on-campus activities after an advisory concerning traffic movement. Sardar Patel Vidyalaya shifted classes for students from Classes 6 to 12 online and rescheduled its Activity Week inauguration. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Mehta Vidyalaya cancelled campus activities, including Sports Day practice and enrichment classes, while Modern School, Barakhamba Road, and Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School postponed parent-teacher meetings. Modern School also postponed a blood donation camp.
Delhi University’s School of Open Learning and Campus of Open Learning suspended weekend Personal Contact Programme classes for undergraduate and postgraduate students at regional and learning support centres. The changes mean that the protest’s immediate effect extends beyond the demonstration site to education facilities serving students across the city.
Court functioning has also been altered. Delhi’s Patiala House and Rouse Avenue courts will operate only in virtual mode on Saturday. A Delhi High Court notification said district courts would not pass adverse orders against litigants, lawyers, witnesses or accused persons who failed to appear because of the disruption. Undertrial prisoners will be produced through video conferencing.
Both courts are in central Delhi and are located close to metro stations among the 57 stations scheduled to be shut from 9 pm on Friday. The combined measures place movement restrictions, business closures and virtual public-service delivery alongside the security preparations for the Jantar Mantar protest. The affected institutions are scheduled to resume or revise their activities according to their respective advisories and notifications.
