NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated site for public protests and demonstrations, replacing it with three alternative venues across the national capital: Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground in East Delhi.
The decision follows recommendations submitted by a dedicated committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs to evaluate alternative locations where citizens could exercise their right to hold demonstrations without causing widespread urban disruptions. According to the official order signed by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, the designated status of Jantar Mantar has been formally revoked in favour of the three identified locations.
The department indicated that a revised standard operating procedure governing permissions and regulations for holding demonstrations across the newly designated venues will be published in a separate notification.
Jantar Mantar had served as the focal point for civic and political dissent in the capital since 1993, following the prohibition of mass gatherings at the Boat Club near India Gate after the landmark 1988 farmers’ agitation led by Mahendra Singh Tikait. In October 2017, the National Green Tribunal attempted to enforce a blanket ban on demonstrations at the site citing environmental and noise concerns, directing protests toward Ramlila Maidan. However, the Supreme Court struck down the blanket restriction in July 2018, permitting demonstrations subject to regulatory oversight.
Among the newly notified venues, Ramlila Maidan has historically anchored pivotal mass movements in modern Indian history, including Jayaprakash Narayan’s 1975 public agitation against the Indira Gandhi government and Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption mobilisation in 2011.
