Contempt plea in SC against Delhi Police chief, DMRC chairperson over alleged violation of order on Metro, railway curbs
New Delhi: A contempt petition has been filed before the Supreme Court alleging non-compliance with its October 9 order directing authorities to ensure that Metro and railway services in the national Capital are not completely suspended ahead of the proposed protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, at Jantar Mantar.
The petition, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, has sought initiation of contempt proceedings against Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Chairperson D. Thara for allegedly failing to comply with the directions issued by the apex court.
The petitioner alleged that despite the Supreme Court’s categorical direction against a complete prohibition on Metro services, entry and exit gates at several Metro stations remained closed and train services continued to be cancelled or curtailed, causing inconvenience to commuters and disrupting public life in Delhi.
According to the plea, the DMRC had announced the closure of entry and exit gates at 45 Metro stations in the national Capital.
Tripathi claimed that he visited GTB Nagar and Vishwavidyalaya Metro stations at around 9.30 p.m. and found their entry gates shut. He has also claimed to have recorded the locked gates on video.
The petition further alleged that authorities failed to adequately publicise revised travel arrangements and continued to impose restrictions on public transport despite the Supreme Court’s directions.
Referring to his visit to Jantar Mantar at around 8.30 p.m., the petitioner claimed that only police and paramilitary personnel were present at the protest site and that no protesters were there at the time.
The plea contended that the alleged non-compliance with the apex court’s directions had crippled public life in the national Capital and sought immediate withdrawal of blanket restrictions on Metro and other railway services.
The contempt petition follows the Supreme Court’s order passed on Friday, in which a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana directed that there should be no complete stoppage of Metro train services ahead of the proposed protest.
The top court had passed the order after taking note of restrictions imposed on Metro and railway services in view of the proposed demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is seeking accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The CJI Kant-led Bench had observed that there was a distinction between completely prohibiting the movement of trains and regulating their operations, stressing that preventive measures must be proportionate to the anticipated law-and-order situation.
“In terms of that assurance, we make it clear that there shall be no complete prohibition on the movement of Metro trains,” the Supreme Court had said, recording the assurance given by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the authorities would reconsider the restrictions and allow services to operate in a regulated manner.
The apex court had also directed the authorities to give wide publicity to their decision on the regulated operation of Metro and other railway services and publish a traffic advisory to ensure that commuters did not face unnecessary hardship.
The restrictions had included a reduction in the frequency of Metro trains passing through 57 stations and the closure of their entry and exit gates from 9 p.m. on October 9, continuing on October 10 until the situation normalised.
The restrictions were imposed amid concerns over the proposed protest and the potential movement of crowds towards sensitive locations.
The Supreme Court had also directed the DMRC, the railway authorities concerned and Delhi Police (Traffic) to file compliance reports within four days.
During the hearing, the CJI Kant-led Bench had further asked the competent authorities to consider identifying and designating suitable alternative sites equipped with basic amenities and infrastructure to facilitate peaceful and lawful protests.
The Delhi Police had denied permission for the proposed demonstration, citing concerns over public safety, traffic regulation and law and order, and stating that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force in the New Delhi area.