The Supreme Court has taken a very strict stance on the controversy arising out of the protests of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and Left Student Organization in Delhi. The court has directed that barricades should be immediately removed from the roads and areas of the entire city and internet service should be restored. The court has also made it clear that the movement of people within the city should be completely normalized by running the metro service as per the normal schedule. However, the court has also made it clear that all these arrangements will be made under the conditions of maintaining public order.
Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the police action and several restrictions imposed on public transport during the protest on Saturday, October 10. It was alleged in these petitions that metro and rail services were disrupted, people were detained without reason and it became difficult to move around in the city. An urgent hearing was held in the Supreme Court in the case of alleged violation of the earlier order given by the court on October 9.
What happened during the hearing?
While arguing on the Habeas Corpus petition during the hearing, senior lawyer Maneka Guruswamy said that this matter is not limited to only those people whose names are in the petition. Nearly 7,000 people have reportedly been detained in Delhi. The petitioners claimed that many people were detained even from areas where the ban was not in force. He also alleged that some stations including GTB Nagar and University were completely closed.
On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta rejected all these allegations. He told the court that the petitions being mentioned were not made available to the Central Government earlier, hence the government needs time to respond. Mehta said that Delhi Metro was running smoothly, but due to security reasons, restrictions were imposed for some time at some entry and exit points of 45 out of 303 stations. He also said that by 10 pm on Saturday night, all metro stations had been opened and internet services had also been restored. He also said that action was taken against those who were detained as per legal provisions.
What instructions did the Supreme Court give?
In today's hearing, the Supreme Court directed that barricades should be removed immediately in the entire city. Apart from this, internet services should be started smoothly without any interruption. The court also directed that metro services should be run regularly as per normal schedule and the voice of citizens should be completely restored. It also directed that lawyers should not be hindered in any way while performing their professional duties. Apart from this, the Supreme Court has asked the Central Government to file a reply.
During this hearing, questions were also raised on the guidelines applicable to railway services. The Court made it clear that fundamental freedoms should be exercised with full responsibility and legal restrictions can be imposed on them as per the need. However, it is the duty of the administration to maintain public order and remove inconvenience caused to common citizens.
The court has now directed the central government to file a reply in the matter, and the allegations of illegal detention, internet ban and traffic restrictions will now be considered in detail in the next hearing.
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