Delhi HC Questions Jantar Mantar Protest Site, Directs Police To Decide Plea By August 8

New Delhi, August 7, 2026: The Delhi High Court on Friday questioned why the government was not considering shutting down Jantar Mantar as a designated venue for protests, with Justice Amit Mahajan observing that the city should not be unnecessarily held to ransom by demonstrations.

“Why don’t you shut it down? According to me, these things should not happen in the city, but it’s the government’s call. Why should the city be put to ransom unnecessarily?” Justice Mahajan asked, Bar & Bench reported.

Court Questions Protest Site

The observations came while the court was hearing a plea by the All India Dalit Christian Rights Protection Committee seeking directions to the Delhi Police to decide its application for permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Senior Advocate Sanjoy Ghose, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that the police had neither rejected nor approved the request despite the application being pending since July.

“We are saying maximum 75 people will come. They [Delhi Police] are sitting on our application since July. They have not rejected it,” Ghose submitted.

Justice Mahajan then asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma why the government could not shut down the protest site.

“According to me, why don’t you shut this down? It shouldn’t be inside Delhi,” the judge said.

Centre Cites Supreme Court Case

Sharma replied that this was precisely what a Supreme Court order dealt with and said the top court was seized of the question of whether “Jantar Mantar can at all be a designated protest site”.

“According to me, it shouldn’t be,” Justice Mahajan responded.

Ghose then asked whether the Centre’s position was that protests could not be held in Delhi.

“That’s for the police to decide. If they can’t afford to have protests inside the city, that’s…” Justice Mahajan said.

“Fair enough, let them say so that there will be no democratic, peaceful protests in Delhi. We will accept it,” Ghose responded.

Right To Protest Vs City’s Convenience

Justice Mahajan clarified that his concern was not whether the protests were democratic or undemocratic, but why the city should be “put to ransom”.

Ghose referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Shaheen Bagh case and said the court had recognised the right to peaceful protest.

“Of course. But don’t put the city to ransom na,” Justice Mahajan said.

The exchange brought into focus the competing considerations before the authorities: the exercise of the right to peaceful protest and the disruption that demonstrations can cause to other people in the city. The court’s remarks indicated its concern that the exercise of one right should not unnecessarily inconvenience others.

Security Concerns Ahead Of August 15

Sharma told the court that Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was in force in the area and that August 15 was approaching.

“The security forces are deployed. When 75 people become 75,000, we don’t know...” Sharma said.

Justice Mahajan reiterated his reservations about holding such demonstrations in the city.

“Personally, if you ask me, I have a different view. Why should this happen in the city when the entire city goes into… Whether it’s the ambulances or otherwise,” he said.

“The whole city is held to ransom. But their supposed 19(1)(a) rights are better than any other right enjoyed by any other person,” Sharma stated.

Ghose responded that Sharma was “playing to the gallery”.

The arguments reflect a familiar tension in a democracy: peaceful protest provides people a means to voice their grievances, while authorities also have to consider public movement, security and essential services. In this case, however, the immediate question before the court was narrower, concerning the petitioner’s pending request for permission.

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Police Told To Decide By August 8

The court ultimately directed the Delhi Police to decide the application filed by the All India Dalit Christian Rights Protection Committee by August 8 and disposed of the plea.

The order did not decide the larger question of whether Jantar Mantar should continue as a protest venue. The hearing instead ended with a clear direction to the police to take a decision on the committee’s pending application.

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