The Supreme Court has asked the Centre and competent authorities to consider identifying another facility-equipped location for peaceful protests, raising uncertainty over Jantar Mantar’s future as Delhi’s designated demonstration site. The development triggered a sharp response from Saurav Das, co-convenor of the Cockroach Janata Party, ahead of the party’s planned protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
During a hearing on Friday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that the competent authorities would consider identifying a location other than Jantar Mantar for peaceful demonstrations. The court subsequently recorded that all parties agreed it was time to identify and designate another place with facilities for peaceful protesters.
The court asked the competent authorities to consider the suggestion and take an appropriate decision. The report supplied by Live Hindustan – NCR does not specify a deadline for identifying the alternative site, the location under consideration or whether existing permissions for protests at Jantar Mantar will change immediately.
Das objected to the possibility of moving demonstrations away from Jantar Mantar in a post on X. He wrote that the party did not accept the proposal and would not allow it, according to the report. He also referred to earlier restrictions on protests at India Gate and to restrictions imposed at Jantar Mantar with the Supreme Court’s approval.
The response came before the CJP’s planned sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Das urged the Centre to stay away from the protest venue and said the party would not accept what he described as an attempt to take Jantar Mantar away from protesters.
Jantar Mantar has long functioned as a designated protest space in central Delhi, where restrictions and permissions determine how demonstrations are conducted. The latest court proceedings place the responsibility for any change with the competent authorities, while also indicating that the proposed alternative should provide facilities for peaceful protesters.
The court’s observation does not, on the information available in the report, amount to a final decision closing Jantar Mantar as a protest venue. It calls for consideration of another designated location and an appropriate decision by the authorities. The next significant step will be the authorities’ decision on whether to retain Jantar Mantar, designate an additional venue or shift peaceful demonstrations elsewhere.
