Last-minute requests, cap on gathering: how Delhi Police decides on Jantar Mantar protests
Delhi Police are tightening regulations for protests at Jantar Mantar due to concerns over last-minute requests and crowd control. Authorities now require organizers to submit detailed applications 10 days in advance to assess security and logistical impacts.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing tension between the right to protest and the state's mandate to maintain public order and traffic management in urban centers.
Over the past few weeks, several organisations — from anti-reservation groups to those opposed to the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls — have sought permission to hold demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. Their requests have been denied amid concerns over “open calls” for protests, uncertainty over crowd size and last-minute requests, said officers familiar with the process. No demonstration has been allowed at the venue since the stir led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in July, they said.
On Wednesday, CJP co-convener Saurav Das submitted an “intimation letter” for a joint protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10 to highlight alleged irregularities in the SIR and demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
The organisers were asked to submit an undertaking, and their request is being assessed, a senior officer said. An intimation letter, however, is not treated as a formal application for permission, he added.
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