New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hold a rare Sunday sitting this morning to examine whether Delhi’s authorities defied its orders during Saturday’s sweeping shutdown of metro and train services. The hearing, listed at 10.30 am before a special bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, has turned the spotlight on the confrontation between the Centre and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The contempt plea has been filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi. It names three respondents: Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chairperson D Thara. The petitioner argues that the authorities imposed exactly the kind of blanket shutdown the apex court had told them to avoid in its October 9 directions.
Why the court is sitting on a Sunday
Sunday hearings in the Supreme Court are unusual, and they are listed only when a matter cannot wait for the next working day. In this case, the urgency flows from Saturday’s events in the national capital. The DMRC closed entry and exit gates at 45 metro stations and later extended the closure by four hours, till 10 pm. Train services were also suspended for much of the day as part of security arrangements ahead of the CJP’s planned demonstration.
The plea alleges that these restrictions ran contrary to the court’s October 9 order, which had cautioned against a complete prohibition of metro and rail services in Delhi. “This brutal assault on the fundamental rights of the citizens and sheer disregard to the orders of this court,” the petition states, amounts to a deliberate attempt by Delhi Metro, Delhi Police and the Union government that must be dealt with firmly.
The protest that triggered the lockdown
Behind the transport shutdown sits a charged political dispute. The CJP, led by Abhijeet Dipke, has called for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls. Delhi Police had denied permission for Saturday’s demonstration, and Dipke and other CJP leaders, including Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained as soon as they landed in Delhi.
Hundreds of CJP volunteers and other citizens were taken to Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town on Saturday, where they were held through the day. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained at his Gurugram residence on Saturday morning and remained in detention late into the night. The UN human rights office raised concerns over the mass detentions, urging Indian authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly and calling for the immediate release of anyone arbitrarily detained. India rejected the remarks, calling them misplaced.
Late Saturday night, police released all detainees except the CJP leaders, against whom legal proceedings are continuing. The DMRC reopened the gates of all 45 stations, and officials said train services would resume on their normal schedule from Sunday.
Opposition’s next move: October 12 protest call
The row has now drawn in the wider Opposition. In a series of posts on X on Saturday, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi announced that the INDIA bloc would take to the streets again on October 12. He alleged that Delhi Police and BJP workers used violence against students and women during the CJP-led protest, accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Delhi Police of thuggery and giving a free hand to RSS-BJP workers.
Gandhi, who compared the Prime Minister to the villain “Mogambo” from the film Mr India, cancelled his scheduled Goa visit on Sunday, where he was to pay tribute at the Chieftains Memorial in Cuncolim and address a public meeting. Congress leaders said he would stay in Delhi to remain involved in the Opposition’s protest programme. For its part, the CJP said nationwide protests would continue until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
What to expect from the hearing
The bench will first decide whether a prima facie case of non-compliance is made out. If it agrees with the petitioner, it can issue formal contempt notices to the three officials, which would require them to respond personally. If it finds the shutdown proportionate and the compliance substantial, the plea could be dismissed with a warning.
Either way, the Sunday sitting underlines how the dispute has moved beyond street politics into constitutional territory. The outcome will set the tone for how far the state can go in restricting public transport in the name of security when protest movements converge on the capital.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Supreme Court hearing a case on Sunday?
The court has listed a special hearing on October 11 at 10.30 am because the contempt plea concerns Saturday’s transport shutdown in Delhi, a matter of continuing urgency that could not wait for Monday.
Who has been named in the contempt plea?
Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and DMRC chairperson D Thara have been named as respondents.
What did the court’s October 9 order say?
The Supreme Court had directed that authorities must not impose a complete prohibition on metro and train services in Delhi ahead of the CJP protest. The plea alleges this direction was violated when 45 metro stations were shut.
What is the CJP protest about?
The Cockroach Janta Party is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
What did Rahul Gandhi announce?
The Leader of Opposition announced that the INDIA bloc would hold protests again on October 12, alleging violence by police and BJP workers against demonstrators, and cancelled his October 11 Goa visit.
That is the latest from the national capital. The hearing begins at 10.30 am, and we will track the court’s orders through the day.
