New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- The Supreme Court, while setting aside a blanket ban on protests at Jantar Mantar in a 2018 ruling, had held that the right to peaceful protest could not be completely extinguished and that the competing rights of protesters and residents had to be balanced through regulation. The Court had accordingly directed authorities to permit limited and regulated use of the area.

With the Delhi Police now de-notifying Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site and shifting demonstrations to three other venues, the question is whether the decision is legally sustainable in light of the Supreme Court's ruling.

In Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India, the Supreme Court was dealing with a 2017 order of the National ...