Published Oct 09, 2026 | 5:32 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2026 | 5:32 PM
Supreme court of India
Synopsis: The Supreme Court order read, “We make it clear that there shall be no complete prohibition on movement of metro/trains.”
The Supreme Court on Friday, 9 October, asked the Union government not to completely stop train services to and from Delhi and close the Delhi Metro stations ahead of the 10 October protest march to Jantar Mantar, Delhi, against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to the report by Livelaw, the Court asked the Centre to allow these services in a regulated manner, keeping in mind the principles of proportionality, so that the public is not inconvenienced.
The Court also directed the Centre to give due publicity to the advisory so that no hardship is caused to the public.
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During the hearing, the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta said that the impression given by the petitioners that the entire city has been shut down is far from the truth, and claimed that the authorities have only taken proportionate measures in view of the violence which followed the July 20 Parliament march attempt by CJP protesters.
He added that the internet shutdown is only effective in certain sensitive pockets, and that too will be reviewed based on the security inputs.
Addressing the Solicitor General of India during the hearing, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said: “Solicitor…we are mainly concerned about the complete closure of these metro station entries. We have serious concerns about this. Our concern is not with respect to any protesters or any individual. Our concern is about the hundreds and thousands of commuters who come from Gurugram, Greater Noida, East Delhi and South Delhi to Delhi for their livelihood.”
The order read: “It having been suggested from our side that there is a distinction between complete prohibition and regulation, the learned SG has fairly agreed to impress upon authorities to reconsider prohibition and allow movement of trains/metro in such a regulated manner that no inconvenience is caused to the citizenry of Delhi, keeping in mind the principles of proportionality.”
“We make it clear that there shall be no complete prohibition on movement of metro/trains. A considered decision may be taken to allow metro and other rails in an aptly regulated manner so that no inconvenience is caused to the public at large and such decision shall be given wide publicity. Advisory to also be published in newspapers and on websites so that no hardship is caused to the public while travelling inside the city.”
Earlier in the day, Indian Express reported that Indian Railways has also cancelled all trains arriving at and departing from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations for 10 hours from 4 am to 2 pm on Saturday.
In a statement, the Ministry of Railways said: “Intelligence inputs and traffic advisory indicate severe road congestion around New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station area on 10th Oct, 2026 between 04:00 hrs to 14:00 hrs due to planned protest/demonstration by Opposition parties in Central Delhi. To ensure that passengers do not face similar hardship, Railways has taken a proactive, precautionary step: All Mail/Express trains starting from the source after 14:00 hrs on 9th Oct, which were scheduled to arrive at New Delhi / Hazrat Nizamuddin between 04:00-14:00 hrs on 10th Oct, are cancelled at source.”
Meanwhile, according to a PTI report, the Delhi Police has requested the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to shut 57 metro stations from 9 pm on Friday, 9 October till Saturday, the day of CJP’s protest, citing the likelihood of “unruly mob movement towards sensitive locations.”
In a letter on Thursday, Joint Commissioner of Police (Transport Range) Rajneesh Gupta said the frequency of metro trains passing through the stations may also be reduced on October 10, depending on the situation.
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Meanwhile, Delhi police Joint CP Nupur Prasad said, “This intimation was reviewed. Firstly, it was received on very short notice; our established guidelines require such requests to be submitted ten days prior to the planned protest, which was not the case here.”
“Secondly, their past conduct was taken into account; when they were previously granted permission for a protest, they failed to adhere to their own undertakings and did not comply with the legal guidelines issued at the time.”
“In light of these factors, the current law-and-order situation, open calls from other organisations, and traffic regulation requirements, permission is not being granted.”
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
