In its petition, the Union sought directions to Centre and the Delhi Police to permit it to hold a peaceful dharna at Jantar Mantar or any other suitable venue in Delhi

Published on: Sep 25, 2026, 13:46:14 IST

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The Delhi high court on Friday directed the Delhi Police to decide by Monday whether an alternative venue to Jantar Mantar can be provided to the United Forum of Bank Unions, Delhi State, for holding a protest seeking a five-day work week, improved pension benefits, and resolution of long-pending service-related issues.

“Give him something. They are saying give them some other place. They can’t be coming to court for this,” a bench of justice Amit Mahajan said.

“The respondents are directed to consider the petitioner’s request for an alternative site for holding peaceful demonstration”, he added.

The court passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the United Forum of Bank Unions, Delhi State, claiming to be an umbrella organisation of trade unions in the banking sector representing a majority of bank employees and officers in negotiations concerning their service conditions.

In its petition, the Union sought directions to the Centre and the Delhi Police to permit it to hold a peaceful dharna at Jantar Mantar or any other suitable venue in Delhi from September 28 to 30.

It was their case that they had submitted a request on August 27 seeking permission to hold a dharna on September 11, but the request was refused. They subsequently submitted another request on September 1, seeking permission to hold a dharna on September 18, which was rejected on September 17.

They further submitted that, as part of their agitation programme, they proposed to hold a three-day strike from September 28 to September 30, according to its August 27 request, but have not received any response.

“The right to peaceful assembly and holding dharnas/ demonstrations is a crucial aspect of the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a). Non grant of permission to hold peaceful dharna/ demonstration by the respondents is violative of the fundamental right of the petitioner enshrined under Article 19(1)(a) and (b) of the Constitution of India,” the petition stated.

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