Indian Youth Congress’s (IYC) chief Uday Bhanu Chib moved the Delhi high court against Delhi police’s decision to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site in the Capital.
They designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground in north Delhi, and CBD Ground in east Delhi. The application has been filed in Chib’s petition against Delhi Police’s denial of permission for a protest at Jantar Mantar. Delhi police on Monday denotified Jantar Mantar as a protest site, ending its 33-year-long designation as one of the country’s demonstration hubs. This was a day after the Delhi police told the high court on Tuesday that Monday’s notification was passed following a Supreme Court October 9 order earlier this month that nudged authorities to consider alternative, better-equipped spaces where residents could exercise their democratic rights without hindering public safety. The Supreme Court on October 9 called for a rethink of Delhi’s decades-old arrangement of holding demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, recording that the Delhi Police commissioner and other competent authorities would consider designating an alternative venue with better facilities for peaceful protesters.
