Delhi Police told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that Jantar Mantar remained exempt from prohibitory orders. The police said demonstrations were allowed there with prior written permission and a 5 pm deadline. These rules were kept in place to manage security near key government buildings during sensitive protest periods in Delhi.
Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that Jantar Mantar remained exempt from prohibitory orders. The exemption preserves a regulated protest space amid wider security restrictions.
The Delhi Police informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that Jantar Mantar had been kept outside prohibitory orders imposed in several parts of the national capital ahead of CJP's October 10 protest call, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Demonstrations were allowed at Jantar Mantar with prior written permission and subject to a 5 pm deadline, the police said in an additional affidavit filed before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar said the orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were issued because of the sensitivity of the New Delhi area. The affidavit cited the presence of key establishments near the protest site, including Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate, as well as events during protests in July.
The additional affidavit was filed in response to a writ petition by CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby. On October 15, the Supreme Court had directed the Delhi Police to place on record the orders issued under Section 163 in New Delhi.
In an earlier affidavit filed on October 15 in the same case, the Delhi Police had responded to a challenge against the closure of 57 Delhi Metro stations ahead of the proposed October 10 protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Kumar had said the steps taken by the police administration, including the regulation of Metro services, were preventive measures based on intelligence inputs and an assessment of the prevailing and changing situation on the ground, according to PTI.
The latest affidavit listed seven orders issued between August 19 and September 26 for the police subdivisions of Connaught Place, Tughlak Road, Parliament Street, Chanakyapuri, Barakhamba Road, Safdarjung Enclave and Defence Colony. The orders for Parliament Street and Connaught Place specifically excluded the exempted area of Jantar Mantar Road.
The orders generally barred public meetings, gatherings of five or more people, the carrying of firearms and other objects, slogan-shouting, speeches, processions, demonstrations, picketing and dharnas without prior written permission.
The affidavit said Delhi has 15 police districts divided into 72 subdivisions, and orders under Section 163 are issued in response to urgent law-and-order situations. The orders were to remain in force for 60 days unless withdrawn earlier, and violations were punishable under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In summary, the police said the restrictions imposed ahead of the October 10 protest were preventive, while Jantar Mantar remained available for demonstrations with written permission and within the prescribed time limit.