NEW DELHI: Delhi high court Friday questioned the logic of keeping Jantar Mantar the designated site for protests and agitation, wondering why an entire city should be “put to ransom” due to demonstrations in the heart of the capital.“According to me, these things should not happen in the city. But it is govt’s call. Why should the city be put to ransom unnecessarily?” Justice Amit Mahajan said in oral observations while hearing a plea on the permission to hold a peaceful protest at the site.A petition by the All India Dalit Christian Rights’ Protection Committee sought a direction to Delhi Police to decide on its request for permission to hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar on Aug 10 between 10 am and 1 pm.As the senior counsel for the petitioner contended that police had not decided on the organisation’s request since July 9, Justice Mahajan asked, “Personally speaking, why should protests happen inside the city?”The court indicated that due to the protests, movement in the city gets affected “Whether it’s the ambulances or otherwise.”But the court underlined that law and order is the domain of police and asked police to decide on the petitioner’s request by Saturday.The judge said he was not passing any direction on whether permission should be granted or denied, but the petitioner should be informed about the decision.Additional solicitor-general Chetan Sharma said Independence Day is around the corner and prohibitory orders are in place in the area.He also informed that Supreme Court is already considering the issue of having an alternative protest site.On Aug 3, Supreme Court agreed to examine a PIL contending that Jantar Mantar in the heart of the capital is no longer a suitable venue for protests as they cause inconvenience to residents and disrupt essential services.The petitioner’s counsel said around 75 people were expected to join the protest, and police can even assign an alternative protest venue to them for Aug 10.The petitioner wants to protest peacefully over their longstanding demand for inclusion of Dalit Christians within the Scheduled Castes framework.
