Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Oct 11
The Supreme Court has issued contempt notices to senior government, police and Delhi Metro officials after petitioners alleged that authorities violated its order against a complete suspension of public transport during a protest in the national capital.
A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, hearing the matter during a special sitting on Sunday, said the petitioners had established a “prima facie” case and directed the officials to submit counter-affidavits and a compliance report by October 13.
The notices were issued to Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Chairperson D Thara. The court dispensed with their personal appearance for the time being.
One of the petitions, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, alleged that the Delhi Metro, police and Union government had deliberately disregarded the court’s directions, infringing citizens’ fundamental rights.
The plea cited the Supreme Court’s October 9 order, which directed the Centre to ensure that metro and train services to Delhi were not brought to a complete halt because of a planned protest.
The protest was called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and student organisations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, also comprising Justices Bagchi and Mohana, had said on Friday that while authorities could restrict unruly movement to maintain law and order, citizens should not face undue harassment.
The court had directed the Centre to ensure there was no “complete prohibition” on metro and train movement into Delhi on October 10, stressing that public transport could not be brought to a standstill.
According to a Delhi Metro advisory, 45 stations were closed from 9 pm on Friday until 6 pm on Saturday for security reasons.
The contempt petition alleged that despite the court’s directions and assurances recorded during the hearing, authorities maintained a blanket shutdown across transit corridors, continued train cancellations and failed to issue transparent public advisories on transport restrictions.
