Special hearing today in Supreme Court on stopping movement of metro and trains in Delhi, contempt petition filed against officials


The matter of disruption of public transport during the political uproar and protests in the national capital Delhi on Saturday has now reached the Supreme Court of the country. A contempt petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against Delhi authorities, alleging that there has been a blatant violation of the Supreme Court’s directions to stop the movement of metro and trains during a political party’s protest. A special bench headed by Chief Justice (CJI) Surya Kant will hear this serious matter today i.e. on Sunday.

What is the whole matter and what are the allegations made in the petition

This entire controversy is related to a political demonstration that took place in the national capital on Saturday, October 10. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and DMRC Chairman D. Thara have been made respondents in the contempt petition filed in the Supreme Court by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi. The petitioners allege that despite clear orders of the court, in the name of protest, trains coming to Delhi were canceled and many metro stations were completely closed in the name of security, which is described as a cruel attack on the fundamental rights of the citizens.

The bench headed by the Chief Justice will hear

Considering the seriousness of this matter, a special hearing has been fixed in the Supreme Court today. A special bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana will simultaneously hear this contempt petition as well as the Habeas Corpus petition challenging the detention of opposition leaders, lawyers and journalists. The court will decide whether large-scale disruption of public transport services in the name of maintaining law and order amounts to defiance of court orders or not.

Balance between court directions and public rights

It is worth noting that earlier during the hearing held on Friday, the Supreme Court had adopted a strict stand and said that although law enforcement agencies have full authority to maintain peace and order, common citizens should not be harassed excessively in the name of protests. The court had clarified that a complete ban should not be imposed on the movement of trains and metro coming to Delhi. Now the eyes of the whole country are fixed on this special hearing to be held today to see what strict stance the court takes on this administrative step.