Exactly three days before the Delhi Police de-notified central Delhi ’s Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site on Monday (October 12, 2026), the Supreme Court and the Union government were on the same page about finding an alternative site to “peacefully and lawfully” express dissent in the national capital.
The order was passed during the October 9 hearing on petitions challenging the government’s move to restrict access into and within the national capital, aimed at halting the October 10 youth protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Let the competent authority consider this suggestion and take an appropriate decision thereon,” the October 9 order said. In its 2020 judgment in the Shaheen Bagh case, the court had held that fundamental rights did not live in isolation.
At the time of hearing, the protest was expected to happen at Jantar Mantar, the designated site for voicing dissent in the national capital. “During the course of hearing, it was suggested, and counsel for the parties were ad idem (of the same mind), that it is high time basic amenities were provided to those engaged in peaceful and lawful protest. To that end, suitable alternative sites capable of housing such infrastructure need to be identified and designated. The petition had sought the discontinuation of Jantar Mantar as the ordinary designated venue for public protests and demonstrations, and to designate Ramlila Maidan, or another sufficiently large and secure ground, as the principal protest venue for the national capital. As per a Standing Order on Guidelines For Holding Protests or Demonstrations in Delhi issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, Ramlila Maidan, Burari ground in north Delhi and CBD ground in East Delhi have been designated as new protest venues. The observation had come in a decision lifting the ban on protests at Jantar Mantar and Boat Club. “The right of the protester has to be balanced with the right of the commuter.
The order said all the parties, including the petitioners, were in favour of finding an alternative protest site in Delhi. In 2018, the top court had declared the “golden rule” that the right to protest must be balanced with the right of the residents to live peacefully. They have to co-exist in mutual respect,” the court had said in a judgment.
