New Delhi, 09 October (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Friday expressed concern over the closure of 57 metro stations in Delhi ahead of the protest scheduled for October 10 against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the Central Government to ensure that train services to the national capital were not completely suspended and that Delhi Metro stations were not shut down ahead of the demonstration.

The court urged the authorities to allow rail and metro services to continue under appropriate regulation so that the general public would not face unnecessary inconvenience.

During the hearing, the court expressed concern that shutting down 57 metro stations could affect citizens’ rights. It observed that any decisions taken by the authorities regarding the operation of railway services and metro trains should be widely publicised to ensure that commuters were adequately informed and spared avoidable hardship.

The court noted that the protest had been cited as the reason for the orders to close railway services and metro stations. It also observed that the organisers of the proposed demonstration could approach the Supreme Court by filing a petition if they wished to challenge the restrictions.

Chief Justice Surya Kant remarked that regulating services and shutting them down altogether were two different things. While regulation could be understandable in view of law-and-order considerations, a complete shutdown was a matter of concern.

During the proceedings, the court was informed that the organisers of the protest were not present and that their lawyers were also absent. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta responded that he knew the organisers were present. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan then challenged the assertion, asking where they were and suggesting that they should be brought before the court, particularly since the authorities had access to the police.

Earlier on Friday morning, senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before the Bench headed by the Chief Justice, stating that all trains had been cancelled and metro stations had been closed, leaving people unable to travel. Questioning the situation, Sibal described the proposed demonstration as a peaceful protest and asked what was happening to the country.

In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “This is our country.” Sibal replied that when he referred to it as his country, he meant that it belonged to Mehta as well.

The court subsequently indicated that the matter would be taken up for hearing after 2 pm.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar