The Supreme Court on Friday indicated that it would ask the Delhi High Court to urgently consider a plea challenging restrictions imposed ahead of a proposed protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, including the planned closure of 57 Metro stations and the cancellation or rescheduling of trains arriving in the national capital.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana took note of submissions by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who raised concerns about the impact of the preventive measures on ordinary citizens across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Mentioning the matter before the court, Sibal argued that the restrictions were severely affecting public movement despite the proposed demonstration being peaceful.
“All trains are cancelled, metro stations are closed. You cannot move anywhere. What is happening to my country? This is a peaceful protest,” he submitted.
Sibal said several trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations on October 10 had been cancelled or rescheduled. He also pointed to the proposed closure of 57 Metro stations and its potential impact on commuters.
Sankaranarayanan argued that a peaceful demonstration could not justify measures that effectively disrupted an entire city, describing the restrictions as disproportionate.
The Supreme Court stressed the need to balance citizens’ right to protest with the public’s right to access essential services and transportation.
Justice Bagchi questioned whether the court could issue directions without hearing the protest organisers and sought details about the expected turnout.
“If we know who the organisers are, we may ask them what number of people they expect to assemble. Then we can regulate that and call upon the government to calibrate its response, rather than taking broad-spectrum measures,” he observed.
The Bench also sought clarification on whether permission for the demonstration had been granted or denied. Sibal said he would return with a representative of the organisers when the matter was taken up at 2 p.m.
The proposed protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) seeks accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Delhi Police said permission had been denied, citing alleged non-compliance by the organisers with legal directions and undertakings given during an earlier protest, along with law-and-order and traffic concerns. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was also in force in the New Delhi area, the police said.
Separately, the Delhi High Court declined to urgently hear a plea by the Indian Youth Congress challenging the denial of permission for a protest against the CEC. The matter was deferred to Monday, October 12.
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