A view of Jahangir Puri Metro Station, as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced that entry and exit gates at 57 stations would remain closed from 9 p.m. on October 9, 2026, until further notice, citing security reasons.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
A Supreme Court advocate on Saturday (October 9, 2026) filed a contempt petition in the apex court on the continued “blanket shutdown across transit corridors” to and within the national capital.
Follow the updates of the Anti-CEC protests in Delhi on October 10, 2026.
Advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi said the shutdown was in clear violation of the October 9 order of the Supreme Court, which had emphasised that the authorities must not cause any hardship or suffering to ordinary commuters through a blanket ban and impose restrictions in a suitable and regulated manner only ahead of and during the October 10 protests for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Mr. Tripathi is the lead petitioner who moved the Supreme Court on the police action against youth protestors on July 20 during the NEET-UG paper leak protests.
He has sought a judicial order to initiate contempt proceedings against Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, IAS; Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, IPS and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Chairperson D. Thara, IAS, for alleged willful non-compliance with the court’s directions.
“Notwithstanding the solemn judicial mandate and the assurance recorded before the Bench of the Chief Justice of India, the contemnors have consciously maintained a blanket shutdown across transit corridors, persisted with unwarranted train cancellations, and failed to issue or publicise transparent traffic and transit advisories,” the petition said.
It said the “deliberate recalcitrance” has severely crippled public life across the National Capital Territory, stranding essential travelers, and amounts to an intentional attempt to bypass and undermine the authority and majesty of the court.
“The Supreme Court had recorded the commitment of the Solicitor General of India and categorically held that there shall be no outright prohibition on the movement of Metro trains or essential railway transit; Transport authorities were mandated to switch from blanket ‘prohibition’ to proportionate ‘regulation’ so as to avoid any harassment or inconvenience to the citizens; Any such regulatory framework and traffic advisory was required to be widely published across print and digital media immediately,” the petition said.
In its October 9 order, the apex court had sought compliance reports from the authorities within four days.
Published – October 10, 2026 10:54 am IST
