Contempt Petition Filed in Supreme Court Over Delhi Transport Shutdown Amid Protests

New Delhi: A contempt petition has been filed in the Supreme Court alleging a violation of its order against shutting down public transport to suppress protests by Left student organisations and the CJP in Delhi. The petition challenges the complete closure of metro services, railways and roads, which violated the court’s directions.

The petition states that the court’s October 9 order was deliberately disobeyed. Advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi filed the contempt petition. In July, he had also approached the Supreme Court seeking an independent investigation into incidents of violence during a student protest at Jantar Mantar.

The petition seeks the initiation of contempt proceedings against Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, IAS; Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, IPS; and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Chairperson D Tara, IAS.

On Friday, the court had ordered the reopening of 57 metro stations and the New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations, which had been closed to prevent protesters from reaching the demonstration site.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that everything could not be brought to a standstill, adding that a complete shutdown was not the same as regulation and was equivalent to a ban. However, public transport in Delhi has been paralysed in violation of the order, the petition claims.