Delhi Metro shutdown: Plea in SC seeks contempt action against authorities

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday (October 10) seeking contempt proceedings against authorities for allegedly violating the court’s direction against a complete shutdown of metro and railway services in Delhi on October 10 ahead of the CJP protest.

Plea names Delhi Police, Centre, DMRC officials

The petition, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi through advocate Chand Qureshi, named Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chairperson D Thara as respondents.

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"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," the plea said.

SC had barred complete transport shutdown

The petition referred to the Supreme Court’s October 9 order, passed while hearing a separate plea challenging the closure of 57 metro stations and the cancellation of trains to Delhi ahead of the planned protest. The court had directed authorities to reconsider the restrictions and ensure there was no complete prohibition on metro and railway movement.

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The protest has been called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and some student organisations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.

While hearing the petition on Friday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana had directed the Centre to ensure that there was no "complete prohibition" of the movement of metro and trains coming to Delhi on October 10 due to the protest, saying they cannot bring everything to a halt.

Plea alleges authorities defied court directions

Though law enforcement agencies have the right to take steps to restrict unruly movement, citizens should not be unduly harassed, the top court had said.

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The contempt plea said notwithstanding the solemn judicial mandate and the assurance recorded before the top court, the authorities have "consciously maintained a blanket shutdown across transit corridors, persisted with unwarranted train cancellations, and failed to issue or publicize transparent traffic and transit advisories".

"This deliberate recalcitrance has severely crippled public life across the National Capital Territory, stranding essential travellers, and amounts to an intentional attempt to bypass and undermine the authority and majesty of this court," the plea submitted.

Petitioner cites closed metro gates

It said the petitioner was directly affected with the "arbitrary closure" of metro stations/gates of metro stations in Delhi.

"The instant contempt petition needs immediate intervention of this court because there is the blatant violations of the orders passed on October 9 by this court, by closing the entry and exit gates of Delhi Metro in-spite of the clear and unambiguous order of this court that only regulatory measures can be taken to regulate the crowd and it can’t be a preventive step," the plea said.

It said the petitioner had personally visited at least two metro stations -- GTB Nagar metro station and the Vishwavidyalaya metro station -- at about 9.30 pm on Friday and found that entry gates were completely closed and exit gates were being manually regulated.

It alleged that authorities were "deliberately, intentionally and knowingly creating lawless condition in the national capital".

Plea seeks restoration of services

The plea sought initiation of contempt proceedings against the respondents for their alleged deliberate, willful and contumacious disobedience of the October 9 order.

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It has also sought an urgent ad-interim direction commanding the respondents to immediately revoke all blanket prohibitory orders against metro and railway operations, and enforce a strictly regulated, operational schedule with immediate public notice.

The plea urged the apex court to issue notice to the respondents directing them to appear in person before the court to show cause why they should not be punished for committing contempt of the court.

Court calls for regulated metro operations

In its October 9 order, the top 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."

"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," the bench had said.

It had said such a decision should be widely publicised to prevent further inconvenience.

The bench had said a traffic advisory should also be published in respect of smooth movement of vehicles in newspapers and on online platforms to ensure that no hardship or inconvenience is caused to the public in the course of travelling within the city.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had assured the top court that he would consult the government and that restrictions could be regulated and periodically reviewed in light of the evolving situation.

Delhi Metro closed 45 stations from 9 pm on Friday till 6 pm on Saturday for security reasons, an advisory said.