India, Aug. 7 -- The Delhi High Court on Friday questioned the government over continuing to allow protests at Jantar Mantar, with Justice Amit Mahajan asking why the site was not being shut down as a designated protest venue.

Hearing a plea by the All India Dalit Christian Rights Protection Committee seeking directions to the Delhi Police to decide its application for permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar, Justice Mahajan remarked that the city should not be "put to ransom unnecessarily" by demonstrations in the heart of the capital.

"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?" the judge asked, accor...