Supreme Court probes whether Jantar Mantar’s denotification stemmed from its own panel’s advice

The Supreme Court, through a two-judge bench, has summoned the Union government and Delhi Police to justify the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue. The Court’s notice seeks to determine whether the action was prompted by its October 9 directive urging a rethink of protest locations or by an earlier recommendation from a home-ministry panel. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the bench that the committee’s report, issued well before the Court’s observations, drove the decision.

Delhi Police’s additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma also linked the move to the October 9 order, while petitioners, represented by senior advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Mukta Gupta, argue that the new sites—Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground—are inadequate and violate fundamental protest rights. The bench said it will review the responses before deciding on possible judicial intervention.