Delhi Police announced on Monday that Jantar Mantar would no longer serve as a venue for protests and demonstrations, naming three alternative locations where such gatherings may take place. The directive, bearing the date of 11 October 2026, carried the signature of Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar.
Three locations — Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground in East Delhi — have been formally designated as venues where citizens may hold protests and demonstrations, according to an official order. The order also noted that a government-constituted committee had reviewed alternatives to the existing designated site, with detailed procedural guidelines for all three venues to be released at a later date.
The order stated that it supersedes Standing Order No. L&O/48/22, originally issued on 28 April 2022, though only to the extent of the changes contained within it.
Organisers from the Cockroach Janta Party had announced a Jantar Mantar rally the week prior. Attendees gathered around a demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar vacate his post in light of questions surrounding irregularities attributed to the Special Intensive Revision process for electoral rolls.
A request lodged by the CJP to stage a demonstration was turned down by Delhi Police, with security concerns put forward as the basis for the decision. The Indian Youth Congress separately sought permission to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar, and its plea before the Delhi High Court drew a response deadline of October 13 for city police to file their reply.
A legal petition filed by the IYC contested the decision by Delhi Police to withhold authorisation for a demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The petition contested Delhi Police's October 1 communication, with national president Uday Bhanu Chib acting as the organisation's representative in the matter.
A petition concerning Jantar Mantar's status as a venue for public demonstrations was also set to come before the High Court on Tuesday. During Monday's hearing before a bench led by Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma, a lawyer raised the issue, noting that the absence of a designated alternative venue had left peaceful demonstrations without adequate provision.
A separate petition — claiming that individuals from outside the demonstration had entered the weekend protest and subjected participants to harassment — was also accepted by the court for a Tuesday hearing. When attorneys sought an accelerated hearing on the petition concerning the protest site, the bench indicated that proceedings on the matter were already under way at the Supreme Court.
