Delhi Police has removed Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites on the recommendation of a Home Ministry committee, drawing criticism from protest groups.

BulletsIn

• Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar issued a standing order on 11 October denotifying Jantar Mantar as a designated site for protests and demonstrations.
• Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi were named as the new designated protest sites.
• The order followed recommendations of a committee constituted by the Union Home Ministry to examine alternative venues for protests.
• A detailed revised standard operating procedure for the new venues will be issued separately.
• The move came amid protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in voter lists and election administration.
• The Cockroach Janta Party's co-convener Saurav Das called the decision arbitrary and described it as an assault on the right to protest and peaceful assembly.
• Jantar Mantar is an 18th-century astronomical observatory built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II.
• Restrictions after a large 1988 farmers' agitation led by Mahendra Singh Tikait made Jantar Mantar the designated protest site by 1993.
• In 2018, the Supreme Court set aside a National Green Tribunal ban on protests there and directed regulated use, balancing protest rights with residents' concerns.
• Explainers note that crowds beyond 1,000 cause congestion, and that sensitive installations lie nearby.