New Delhi, Oct 12: The Supreme Court said contempt petitioners, who have alleged violations of the court’s direction to ensure no complete prohibition on metro and trains services in Delhi due to a CJP protest, have made out a “prima-facie” case.
During a special hearing, a bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notices to Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Chairperson D Thara.
“Having considered the submissions of the counsel for the parties and perused the averments in the contempt petition, we are of the opinion that the petitioners have made out a prima-facie case.
“Accordingly, we issue notice upon the alleged contemnors. They are directed to file counter-affidavit to the said petition, including a compliance report, in terms of our order as aforesaid by October 13, 2026. Their personal presence is dispensed with in the meanwhile,” the bench said.
One of the pleas, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, has contended that the brutal assault on the fundamental rights of citizens and the sheer disregard to the court’s orders amount to a deliberate, intentional attempt on the part of the Delhi Metro, the Delhi Police and the Union government, and it must be dealt with an iron hand.
The petition has referred to the court’s October 9 order that was passed while hearing a separate plea against the closure of 57 metro stations and cancellation of trains to Delhi in view of the protest.
The protest call was given by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and some student organisations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission (EC).
Hearing the petition on Friday, a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Bagchi and Mohana had directed the Centre to ensure that there was no “complete prohibition” of the movement of metro and trains coming to Delhi on October 10 due to the protest, saying they cannot bring everything to a halt.
Though law-enforcement agencies have the right to take steps to restrict unruly movement, citizens should not be unduly harassed, the court had said.
The Delhi Metro closed 45 stations from 9 pm on Friday till 6 pm on Saturday for security reasons, according to an advisory.
The contempt plea has said notwithstanding the solemn judicial mandate and the assurance recorded before the top court, authorities have “consciously maintained a blanket shutdown across transit corridors, persisted with unwarranted train cancellations, and failed to issue or publicise transparent traffic and transit advisories”. ( PTI )
