Delhi Police has de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, shifting protests and demonstrations to three other grounds in the capital.
New Delhi: Delhi Police has issued a standing order de-notifying Jantar Mantar as a venue for protests and demonstrations and designating Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in East Delhi as the new venues, on the recommendation of a committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs [Standing Order, Guidelines for Holding Protests or Demonstrations in Delhi].
The order is issued over the name of Delhi Commissioner of Police Anurag Kumar and is dated October 11, 2026. It states that the Ministry of Home Affairs had constituted a Committee to examine alternative proper venues for citizens’ right to organise protests and demonstrations in place of the existing designated site.
What the order says
“Based on the Committee’s recommendations, Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified.”
The order designates Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground, East Delhi, as the new venues for organising protests and demonstrations. It adds that a detailed and revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for protests at these three venues will be issued separately, and describes itself as a partial modification of an earlier standing order dated April 28, 2022.
The backdrop
The order follows the protests against the Election Commission of India and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and the police action that accompanied them in the capital over the weekend. Pleas challenging the closure of Jantar Mantar and the blanket restrictions imposed around it, including activist Nadeem Khan’s challenge to the Section 163 BNSS order in the New Delhi district, are pending before the Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court is hearing petitions on detentions and public transport curbs during the protests.
The competing positions on the protests are before the courts and are not decided. The authorities contend that organised protests should be held at designated venues under an SOP, while the organisers and petitioners contend that restrictions on assembly must be justified by law. No view is expressed on the merits of either position.
Why the order matters
Jantar Mantar has been the designated site for protests in the capital under the 2022 standing order, and the right to assemble peacefully under Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution is subject to reasonable restrictions. A change of designated venue is an executive decision that can be tested in court on proportionality and reasonableness, and the new SOP, when issued, will set the conditions on which protests at the three grounds are permitted.
Document: Standing Order, Guidelines for Holding Protests or Demonstrations in Delhi, partially modifying the Standing Order of April 28, 2022
Issued by: Anurag Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Delhi
Date: October 11, 2026