Supreme Court to hold special Sunday sitting to hear plea linked to Delhi protest curbs

The Supreme Court will hold a special sitting on Sunday to hear a contempt petition alleging that officials violated its October 9 order by continuing Delhi Metro station closures and train cancellations during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.A bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana will hear the matter. (File Photo: ITG)The Supreme Court will hold a special sitting on Sunday, October 11, to hear a contempt petition alleging that authorities violated its October 9 order by continuing to close Delhi Metro stations and cancel train services during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.A bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana will hear the petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi.The plea seeks contempt proceedings against Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Chairperson D Thara for allegedly wilfully disobeying the court's directions.The petitioner has argued that the authorities continued imposing restrictions on public transport despite the Supreme Court directing them to ensure that Metro and railway services were not completely suspended during the October 10 protests. According to the petition, the continued closure of Metro stations and cancellation of trains caused significant inconvenience to commuters and severely disrupted public life in the national capital. The allegations are yet to be adjudicated by the court.WHAT THE SUPREME COURT SAID ON OCTOBER 9The contempt petition stems from the Supreme Court's October 9 order in M A Baby v. Union of India, which dealt with restrictions on public transport ahead of the planned protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and Opposition parties against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. During the hearing, the court considered communications issued by Delhi Police directing the closure of 57 Metro stations and restrictions on Mail and Express trains arriving at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations.Eventually, the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation brought down the closure to 45 Metro stations.- Ends