A plea filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday seeks contempt action against authorities for shutting Delhi Metro services on October 10. Petitioner Shailendra Mani Tripathi said this violated the court’s October 9 order against a complete prohibition. The shutdown caused hardship to the public, as many stations remained closed.
A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday seeking contempt proceedings against authorities for allegedly violating the court's direction that there should be no "complete prohibition" on the movement of Delhi Metro services and Indian Railways trains to Delhi on October 10 because of the CJP protest.
The petition, filed by Shailendra Mani Tripathi, has made Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and others respondents. It alleged that metro stations in the national capital remained shut despite the apex court's October 9 order, and said the restrictions had crippled public life and caused hardship to the public.
The plea referred to the top court's October 9 order, passed while hearing a separate petition against the closure of 57 metro stations and the cancellation of trains to Delhi in view of the protest. The protest call was given by the Cockroach Janta Party against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
While hearing the matter on Friday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the Centre to ensure that there was no "complete prohibition" on the movement of metro services and trains coming to Delhi on October 10, saying everything could not be brought to a halt. The court said that while law enforcement agencies had the right to take steps to restrict unruly movement, citizens should not be unduly harassed.
In its order, the bench 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 also said, "Regarding that assurance, we clarify that 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." It said such a decision should be widely publicised to prevent further inconvenience. The court also said a traffic advisory should be published in newspapers and on online platforms to ensure smooth movement of vehicles and avoid hardship to the public.
Delhi Metro, however, said 45 stations would remain closed from 9 pm on Friday till 6 pm on Saturday for security reasons. The fresh plea now seeks action over the alleged non-compliance with the Supreme Court's directions on keeping public transport running in a regulated manner during the protest.