सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने मेट्रो‑रेल पर व्यापक प्रतिबंध हटाने का आदेश, कहा ‘मक्खी मारने के लिए हथौड़ा नहीं’

'Don't use hammer to kill a fly': Supreme Court asks Centre, Delhi Police to lift blanket curbs on metro, trains

The DMRC has announced the closure of 57 metro stations from 9 pm on Friday ahead of the CJP's October 10 protest seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and Delhi Police to lift blanket restrictions on metro and railway services ahead of Saturday’s proposed protests in Delhi, making it clear that security measures cannot amount to a complete prohibition on public transport and inconvenience millions of ordinary residents.

A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said that authorities could regulate the movement of trains to prevent unlawful gatherings but could not bring the entire system to a halt, stressing that the right of Delhi’s residents to access public facilities and move freely also required protection.

“Stopping something and regulating are two different concepts. One can regulate but it is completely different to put a halt on everything…you cannot stop everything,” observed the bench.

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“You will not use a hammer to kill a fly,” remarked the court, explaining that the authorities must adopt measures commensurate with the situation rather than impose sweeping restrictions.

"Since the organisers are not before us, the limited issue before the court is whether the complete stoppage of metro and rails requires reconsideration. Upon our suggestion that there is a distinction between complete prohibition and regulation of metro and rails, learned solicitor general has fairly agreed to reconsider the prohibition and allow the movement of metro trains and other trains in such a regulated manner so that no inconvenience is caused to the citizenry of residents of Delhi, while keeping in mind the principle of proportionality," the court said in its order.

The order added: "In terms of the assurance, we direct that a considered decision shall be taken to allow movements of metro and other trains so that no inconvenience is caused to the people and wide publicity is also given. Similarly, revised advisories be published so that no hardship is caused to the public while commuting in the city."

Deep Dive

Centre agrees to reconsider restrictions

The court passed the order after solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and Delhi Police, agreed to reconsider the restrictions in response to the bench’s concerns over their proportionality. It directed that a considered decision be taken to allow metro and other trains to continue operating in a regulated manner so that commuters do not face inconvenience. Revised advisories must also be given wide publicity.

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The bench made clear that its intervention was limited to the restrictions on transport and public movement, as the organisers of the October 10 protest were not before it.

‘Not everyone has a car’

“Our concern is not with respect to organisers or protesters. Our concern is about hundreds of thousands of people, coming from Greater Noida, South Delhi or livelihood…including students, those going to work,” the bench told Mehta, underlining that the restrictions affected people who had nothing to do with the demonstration.

“We are talking about common citizenry of the national capital,” it said, adding that not everyone had a car or access to private transport.

The court took particular exception to the apparent contradiction in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s communication, which referred both to reducing train frequency and closing station gates from 9pm on Friday until further orders.

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“The word ‘closure’ in the metro notice appears to sit uncomfortably with the expression ‘frequency reduced’. Reduction of frequency is regulation. Closure is prohibition,” the bench said, observing that a complete stoppage of metro and railway services required reconsideration.

Centre cites previous protests, security issues

Mehta said the government would revisit the measures in light of the court’s observations but cautioned that law-enforcement agencies needed some flexibility to respond to changing circumstances. He cited the July protests, which, according to him, continued beyond the one-day permission granted by police and involved attempts to march towards Parliament, leaving more than 200 police personnel injured.

The bench acknowledged the need to protect citizens against unlawful and unruly elements, but said this responsibility had to be discharged without unnecessarily denying the public access to essential services. It also asked authorities to reconsider road barricades and identify alternative routes wherever necessary.

Railways cancels trains ahead of October 10 protest

The court was told that railway services had also been disrupted ahead of the demonstration. Indian Railways cancelled mail and express trains scheduled to arrive at or depart from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations between 4 am and 2 pm on October 10, citing anticipated severe road congestion around the stations. The cancellations affected long-distance services, including the Howrah-New Delhi and Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express trains.

Separately, Delhi Police had asked the DMRC to close entry and exit gates at 57 metro stations from Friday night and reduce train frequency at the identified stations, citing the possibility of unruly crowd movement towards sensitive locations. The proposed restrictions were to continue until the situation normalised.

Why are protests planned in Delhi on October 10?

The measures were imposed ahead of a protest at Jantar Mantar called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and other groups demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

The bench also heard concerns from lawyers about reports of police personnel visiting hostels, paying guest accommodations and other premises to discourage young people from joining the demonstration. It declined to comment on those allegations without the relevant material being formally placed before it, indicating that separate petitions could be filed for appropriate consideration.

Supreme Court hearing follows plea over protest restrictions

The court’s intervention came hours after it sought details of the proposed gathering and attempted to secure an urgent hearing of a related petition pending before the Delhi High Court. The high court on Friday morning had declined to hear the Indian Youth Congress’s challenge to the denial of permission for a separate protest against Kumar on Friday, listing it for Monday.

Later, after a bunch of senior lawyers, including Kapil Sibal, AM Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayan, brought up the matter before the CJI, the bench asked the organisers of the proposed October 10 protests in Delhi to appear before it at 2 pm, as it sought to balance the right to peaceful assembly against the disruption of essential services for millions of residents amid sweeping security restrictions imposed ahead of the demonstrations.

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