Surveillance tender puts Jantar Mantar protest site shift under scrutiny

• A Rs 5.66-crore Delhi Police tender for 338 CCTV cameras, including facial recognition systems, has drawn scrutiny after protests were shifted from Jantar Mantar

• IFF flagged privacy safeguards, camera-count discrepancies and procurement shortcomings, noting overlap between proposed surveillance locations and designated protest venues

• IFF found no evidence linking the decisions, but its findings raise questions about surveillance, privacy and the right to protest

A Rs 5.66-crore Delhi Police tender for 338 CCTV cameras, including facial recognition systems, across Central and New Delhi districts has come under scrutiny following the decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site and shift demonstrations to three alternative locations.

According to an analysis by the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), the tender included locations such as the VVIP gate of Ramlila Maidan, Turkman Gate, Delhi Gate, Raj Ghat, India Gate’s C-Hexagon, Mandi House and Patiala House.

The proposed surveillance network has raised questions about safeguards against the misuse of facial recognition technology, discrepancies in the number of cameras and other shortcomings in the procurement process.

Notably, the tender, uploaded to the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), was issued nearly two-and-a-half months before Delhi Police announced the change in designated protest venues. The IFF report noted that the bid was published five days after protests at Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leak concluded.

While the organisation said it found no evidence linking the surveillance tender to the subsequent decision to relocate protests, it highlighted the overlap between the locations selected for surveillance and those designated for demonstrations.

“We found no evidence that the two decisions were coordinated. We can say that the ground the police have chosen for protests is ground they had already chosen to watch with facial recognition,” the report said.

On 11 October, Delhi Police denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site and designated Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground in north Delhi and CBD Ground in east Delhi as alternative venues.

The decision came amid a series of protests led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders against alleged electoral irregularities and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstrations drew support from civil society organisations and members of the public.

In the run-up to the 10 October protest, Delhi Police had stepped up surveillance around Jantar Mantar and other parts of the capital. More than 300 audio-visual CCTV cameras were installed across the New Delhi district and linked to local police station control rooms. Facial Recognition System (FRS) cameras and AI-powered mobile surveillance vans, including Ikshana, were also deployed to monitor crowds in real time.

According to reports, 118 police personnel were equipped with night-vision body-worn cameras to monitor the area after dark.

Despite the extensive security and surveillance arrangements, the protests continued, with opposition leaders and civil society groups repeatedly mobilising at Jantar Mantar. The police subsequently moved to withdraw the site's designated status, redirecting future demonstrations to the three alternative venues.

The IFF's findings have brought renewed attention to the intersection of public surveillance, privacy safeguards and the right to protest, particularly as the authorities seek to regulate demonstrations at locations that are covered by proposed facial recognition infrastructure.