New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday (August 7) asked the government why it wasn’t closing Jantar Mantar as a protest site altogether. Justice Amit Mahajan even remarked “why should” any protest “happen in the city”.“Why don’t you shut it down? According to me, these things should not happen in the city, but it’s the government’s call. Why should the city be put to ransom unnecessarily?” Justice Mahajan was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.The judge made the observation while hearing a petition by the All India Dalit Christian Rights Protection Committee, which was seeking the court’s intervention to direct the Delhi Police to act on its pending request for permission to protest at the site.Representing the petitioner, senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose told the bench that the police have neither cleared nor denied the group’s application, leaving it in limbo for months.Security personnel keep a vigil near the protest site of Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 26, 2026. Photo: PTI/Shahbaz Khan.“We are saying maximum 75 people will come. They [Delhi Police] are sitting on our application since July. They have not rejected it,” he said, as per the Bar and Bench report.Reacting to the remarks of Justice Mahajan, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)’s chief spokesperson Saurav Das asked if the government will instead designate the India Gate to exercise the fundamental right to peacefully protest.“HANDS OFF our Jantar Mantar! Before trying to take away our protest site, tell us if you will designate the India Gate where we can exercise our fundamental right to peacefully protest. You took away the India Gate. We will not tolerate taking away of OUR Jantar Mantar too!” Das said.HANDS OFF our Jantar Mantar!Before trying to take away our protest site, tell us if you will designate the India Gate where we can exercise our fundamental right to peacefully protest. You took away the India Gate. We will not tolerate taking away of OUR Jantar Mantar too!— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) August 7, 2026‘Why should this happen in the city’Turning to Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, Justice Mahajan observed, “According to me, why don’t you shut this down? It shouldn’t be inside Delhi.”Sharma responded that the issue is already before the Supreme Court, which is currently examining whether Jantar Mantar can continue to function as a designated protest site at all. Unconvinced, Justice Mahajan added, “According to me, it shouldn’t be.”Interestingly, the judge’s comments have come after the recent youth-led revolution across the country, with Jantar Mantar as the epicentre, lead to the resignation of former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.As it is a widely known fact now, the pressure group CJP which lead these protests was formed after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant ended up calling young unemployed individuals “cockroaches” during a hearing. Later on a few occasions, the CJI attempted to clarify saying his statement was taken “completely out of context“.Also read: Postscript: The Anatomy of a Managed RetreatIn the court today, advocate Ghose asked if the Union government’s position is that no protests should be held.The judge clarified that the call rested with police: “That’s for the police to decide. If they can’t afford to have protests inside the city, that’s…”“Fair enough, let them say so that there will be no democratic, peaceful protests in Delhi. We will accept it,” Ghose responded, as per the report.Justice Mahajan clarified he wasn’t questioning the democratic character of such protests, only their cost to the city.Notably, the recent protests in Jantar Mantar saw internet shutdown, police resorting to lathi charge as thousands participated in the Sansad Chalo march on July 20. They even used pellet guns and tear gas shells against the protesters. Two pellet gun victims have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the use of “partly or wholly” metallic pellet guns for crowd control against civilian assemblies.When Ghose invoked the Supreme Court’s Shaheen Bagh ruling affirming the right to peaceful protest, the judge agreed but added, “Of course. But don’t put the city to ransom.”Meanwhile, ASG Sharma pointed out that Section 144 of the CrPC is currently in force in the area with Independence Day approaching. He said forces have already been deployed and expressed concern that a sanctioned gathering of 75 could balloon unpredictably. “When 75 people become 75,000, we don’t know,” he said.In agreement, Justice Mahajan remarked, “Personally, if you have ask me, I have a different view. Why should this happen in the city when the entire city goes into… Whether it’s the ambulances or otherwise.”Also read: Jharkhand: Protests Over JPSC, JSSC Exam Leaks Gather Momentum, Six on Hunger StrikeSharma went further, arguing that protestors’ rights under Article 19(1)(a) seemed to be treated as superior to everyone else’s: “The whole city is held to ransom. But their supposed 19(1)(a) rights are better than any other right enjoyed by any other person.”Ironically, in an attempt to stop peaceful protesters from coming to Jantar Mantar as the crowd swelled post the July 20 police brutalities, the administration shut down as many as 17 metro stations for several hours on multiple days and people going in autos were also stopped by the police just a few kilometres away from the protest site.This was not all. The Delhi police issued circulars asking food delivery operators to avoid the area citing traffic issues. In fact, The Wire reported that after the protests, police targeted restaurants which provided food to the protesters and even those eateries which had put social media posts supporting the protests.Today, Justice Mahajan did not rule on the larger question of Jantar Mantar’s future as a protest site even though he made many oral remarks. He directed the Delhi Police to decide on the Dalit Christian Rights body’s pending application by August 8 and disposed the plea.