On Monday, Delhi Police revoked the status of Jantar Mantar as an authorised venue for public gatherings at a point when protests connected to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were already under way at the long-established site. Over the preceding years, Jantar Mantar had served as a gathering point for numerous public protests. Processions toward the site have been described by various groups as an expression of shared purpose and collective identity.
Built in 1742, Jantar Mantar has occupied a place within Delhi's layered past, later drawing crowds who gathered there to air grievances and press for change. Records attribute the structure to Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur, who had it established under the name 'Yantra Mantra' for the purpose of astronomical observation. Tracking the paths of celestial bodies — the sun, moon, and planets — alongside predicting the timing of those movements, formed the foundational purpose for which the observatory was constructed.
Ahead of 1993, the Boat Club lawn functioned as the gathering ground for large-scale demonstrations, drawing crowds to a venue that would later cede that role to Jantar Mantar. Stretching between India Gate and Vijay Chowk, those open grassy areas carried the informal name Boat Club among locals and visitors alike. Rallies drawing substantial crowds took place within walking distance of Parliament and the corridors of governmental authority.
When farmer organiser Mahendra Singh Tikait led a contingent of cultivators — animals included — to the Boat Club in October 1988, the demonstration placed the Rajiv Gandhi government under pressure to address agricultural grievances and prompted authorities to reconsider where such gatherings could lawfully take place. Restrictions on Boat Club protests followed by 1993, with Jantar Mantar taking on a new role as the designated outlet for public agitation.
Positioned under three kilometres from Parliament, Jantar Mantar drew protest organisers as a venue that carried its own political weight without requiring a march to the legislature's doorstep. In 1993, a coalition of 33 organisations converged on Jantar Mantar for a 'Jail Bharo' demonstration directed at government economic policy and communalism, drawing a reported attendance of close to 25,000 people.
In October 2017, an order from the National Green Tribunal relocated demonstration activity away from Jantar Mantar, with Ramlila Maidan designated as the permitted venue going forward. A Supreme Court decision in July 2018 set aside the blanket ban on protests at the site, tasking authorities with drafting revised rules to balance the assembly rights of demonstrators against the reasonable peace and quiet expected by people living nearby.
A five-day fast observed by Anna Hazare in April 2011 brought wider public notice to demands for more stringent anti-corruption law, with crowds gathering in support of a strengthened version of the Jan Lokpal Bill. Three episodes of collective action punctuated India's public life across that span: in late 2012, crowds gathered to demand accountability and stronger legal safeguards for women following a gang-rape case; in 2014, the death of Nido Tania drew people onto the streets to raise the issue of racial discrimination faced by communities from the Northeast; and in 2017, farmers from Tamil Nadu held a 41-day demonstration in response to agrarian hardship, mounting debt, and losses tied to drought.
Four further episodes of public demonstration stand out across a subsequent period: in December 2019, crowds assembled in opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act after authorities blocked planned marches from Mandi House and the Red Fort; in 2023, a group of prominent wrestlers took their grievances against then-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to the streets, citing allegations of sexual harassment; in 2024, students gathered to raise concerns about reported irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and to call for accountability; and in 2026, a controversy surrounding a NEET-UG paper leak drew fresh demonstrations and placed the examination system under heightened scrutiny.
On 28 June 2026, Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike, a step that drew broader public attention to the movement and its stated goals.
Jantar Mantar lost its status as an approved protest site on the strength of recommendations put forward by a panel that the Ministry of Home Affairs had assembled for that purpose. Three venues were put forward by the Ministry as approved spaces for holding demonstrations: Ramlila Ground in the Central District, Burari Ground serving the North District, and CBD Ground located in East Delhi. In October 2026, Jantar Mantar Road was dropped from the roster of locations formally approved for public demonstrations by Delhi Police.
A dedicated panel first examined available protest locations, weighed traffic flow, public welfare, and the capacity of local infrastructure before the denotification went ahead. Judiciary bodies up to and including the Supreme Court have at various points pressed the administration to locate roomier, less congested venues that would keep pedestrian and vehicular movement — along with broader civic routines — less encumbered.
