Supreme Court to hear contempt plea over Delhi Metro shutdown during CJP protest

The Supreme Court will hear a contempt plea over alleged violations of its order on Delhi transport curbs. The case tests whether security measures can override commuters' rights despite a clear directive against blanket shutdowns.Stock photo used for illustrationNewdelhi,Oct 10, 2026 21:06 ISTThe Supreme Court will hear on Sunday a plea seeking contempt action against officials over the alleged violation of its direction that there should be no complete stoppage of metro and train services in Delhi because of the CJP protest. According to the cause list for October 11 uploaded on the apex court website, the matter will be heard by a bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.The plea has been filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi through advocate Chand Qureshi. It has named Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chairperson D Thara as respondents. The petition says the authorities acted in disregard of the court's October 9 order, which was passed in a separate case on the closure of 57 metro stations and cancellation of trains to Delhi ahead of the protest.The protest call was given by the Cockroach Janta Party and some student organisations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission. While hearing the earlier petition on Friday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Bagchi and Mohana had directed the Centre to ensure there was no "complete prohibition" on the movement of metro and trains coming to Delhi on October 10, saying the authorities could not bring everything to a halt. The court had said that while law enforcement agencies were entitled to take steps to restrict unruly movement, citizens should not be unduly harassed.The contempt plea said, "This brutal assault on the fundamental rights of the citizens and sheer disregard to the orders of this court amounts to deliberate, intentional attempt on the part of Delhi Metro, Delhi Police and the Union government which must be dealt with an iron hand." It also said that, despite the court's order and the assurance recorded before it, the authorities had "consciously maintained a blanket shutdown across transit corridors, persisted with unwarranted train cancellations, and failed to issue or publicize transparent traffic and transit advisories". According to the plea, this had "severely crippled public life" in Delhi and stranded essential travellers. An advisory had said Delhi Metro closed 45 stations from 9 pm on Friday till 6 pm on Saturday for security reasons. The petition said Tripathi was directly affected by the "arbitrary closure" of metro stations and gates. It said he visited GTB Nagar and Vishwavidyalaya metro stations at about 9.30 pm on Friday and found that entry gates were completely shut while exit gates were being manually regulated. The plea alleged that the authorities were "deliberately, intentionally and knowingly creating lawless condition in the national capital" and said there were "blatant violations" of the October 9 order, which had made clear that only regulatory measures could be taken and not preventive steps.The plea has sought the start of contempt proceedings against the respondents for alleged deliberate, wilful and contumacious disobedience of the October 9 order. It has also sought an urgent interim direction to immediately withdraw blanket prohibitory orders on metro and railway operations and to enforce a regulated operational schedule with immediate public notice. It has further asked the court to issue notice to the respondents and direct them to appear in person to explain why they should not be punished for contempt. In its October 9 order, the Supreme Court had said, "It appears that the notifications are overreaching, as they impose a complete ban upon essential public transportation. Upon our indication that a distinction exists between total 'prohibition' and the 'regulation' of metro and other train movements, Solicitor General of India has fairly agreed to impress upon the authorities to reassess such prohibitions." The bench had added, "Although there shall be no outright prohibition on the movement of metro trains, a prudent decision may be made to permit the operation of metro trains and other rail services in a suitable and regulated manner," and said this should be widely publicised. It also said a traffic advisory should be issued in newspapers and on online platforms to avoid hardship to the public. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the court he would consult the government and that restrictions could be regulated and reviewed from time to time in light of the situation.The case will now come up on Sunday with the petitioner alleging that the authorities ignored the court's direction against a complete halt on public transport, while seeking immediate restoration of regulated metro and train services and action against the officials named in the plea.- Ends