The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre on a petition challenging the decision to remove Delhi’s Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites. During the proceedings, a lawyer opposing the decision argued that the denotification had followed a Supreme Court order. However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta clarified that the decision was not taken in compliance with any court directive. He told the court that a committee had already been examining the matter and that the decision was taken after due consideration.
The court said it was issuing notice on the petition and asked the petitioner to wait for the government’s response.
“We are issuing notice. We are getting a response from them. After the response, if we are not satisfied, the law will follow its course…We are calling upon the State to respond,” Justice Bagchi said, according to Bar and Bench.
CJI Kant also stressed that the court had examined the issues raised in the petition. “We ask you to argue because we have done our homework. We know the points. It requires consideration. That is why we are issuing notice,” he said.
Centre To Respond
During the hearing, a lawyer challenging Jantar Mantar’s denotification argued that the decision followed a Supreme Court order.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta clarified that the removal was not carried out on the court’s directions. He said a committee had already been examining the matter and that the decision was taken after careful consideration.
The court issued notice to the Centre and said it would consider the matter after receiving the government’s response.
Delhi Police’s Submission
The development comes after the Delhi Police told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that Jantar Mantar had been denotified as a protest site following a Supreme Court order earlier this month.
On October 9, the Supreme Court asked the authorities to reconsider Delhi’s decades-old practice of holding protests at Jantar Mantar.
The court recorded that the Delhi Police Commissioner and other competent authorities would consider designating an alternative location with better facilities for people staging peaceful demonstrations.
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