SC flags commuter hardship, asks govt to avoid Metro shutdown ahead of protest

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday orally asked the Centre to ensure that Delhi Metro operations are not completely suspended ahead of the proposed protest in the national capital on Saturday, stressing that preventive measures should not cause inconvenience to ordinary commuters.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana expressed concern over the scheduled closure of 57 Metro stations, observing that the restrictions could affect students, employees and other people dependent on public transport.

"We are concerned with closure of metro services," the CJI-led Bench remarked, addressing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre.

The Supreme Court orally observed that hundreds of commuters travel daily from Greater Noida and other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) for their livelihood and educational purposes.

Stressing that ordinary citizens were entitled to access public transport facilities, the top court said the authorities could consider regulating the frequency of Metro services instead of shutting them down entirely.

The CJI-led Bench asked the Solicitor General to take up the matter with the government immediately and ensure that the proposed restrictions did not bring all transport services to a halt.

SG Mehta assured the apex court that he would discuss the issue with the government, adding that the measures could be monitored periodically and modified depending on the situation.

The Supreme Court said that preventive arrangements could be put in place as a precautionary measure but should not result in a complete stoppage of essential public transport services.

"Citizens are entitled to these facilities," the bench orally observed, adding that while maintaining law and order was the government's responsibility, the measures taken should be proportionate to the situation.

The hearing is underway.

The matter was taken up amid concerns over the proposed closure of 57 Metro stations and the cancellation or rescheduling of several trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations on October 10.

The restrictions have been imposed in view of the proposed demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, seeking accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Delhi Police has denied permission for the demonstration, citing public safety, traffic regulation and law-and-order concerns. It has also said that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is in force in the New Delhi area.

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