Protests calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar prompted authorities to withdraw Jantar Mantar's status as an approved demonstration site, with Delhi Police putting forward three other locations where gatherings could take place instead.
Three locations have been set aside for the purpose — Ramlila Ground in Central Delhi, Burari Ground to the north, and CBD Ground serving the eastern part of the city. A panel assembled under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs put forward a set of recommended venues where people may gather to protest and demonstrate, and the ruling now in place flows from that body's findings.
Revised guidelines on holding demonstrations at the three venues were to be published separately, according to a notice put out under Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar's name. A prior directive issued on April 28, 2022, sees some of its provisions adjusted under the terms of the newer order.
Ramlila Ground in Central Delhi, Burari Ground in North Delhi, and CBD Ground in East Delhi make up the trio of locations set aside for gatherings involving protests and demonstrations. A panel convened under the Ministry of Home Affairs to explore alternatives to the existing protest venue had put forward the proposal, and Delhi Police attributed the decision to those findings.
Updated procedures are anticipated to spell out how demonstrations at the newly designated venues will be managed.
Protesters gathered in the capital around the time the ruling was issued, their presence tied to demands that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar step down over contested procedures in the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. The issue has drawn organised participation from the Congress party, the INDIA bloc and its allied formations, the All India Students' Association, the Students' Federation of India, and the Cockroach Janata Party, with opposition figures, student organisations, and civil society networks each adding their voice to the broader mobilisation around it.
Rallies at Jantar Mantar have drawn repeated gatherings, among them demonstrations organised under the banner of Citizens for Justice and Peace, whose founder Abhijeet Dipke has taken a leading role. Demonstrations calling out what protesters described as irregularities in examination processes have drawn gatherings at the location on multiple occasions over recent months.
Under the revised arrangement, Jantar Mantar loses its standing as an officially designated venue for protest activity. Separate and updated procedural guidelines covering how demonstrations may be held at Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground are to be released by Delhi Police at a later stage. Under the revised directive, provisions within Standing Order No. L&O/48/22 — originally issued on 28 April 2022 — have been adjusted on a partial basis. Guidance on how demonstrations at all three locations should be arranged has not yet been made available.