New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Sunday made an important comment on the restrictions imposed on the demonstration of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in Delhi. The court said that citizens have the right to demonstrate peacefully, but for this it is necessary to follow the law and police rules. The court also directed that people gathered peacefully should not be detained illegally. The central government was also asked to keep metro services normal and not to allow internet connections to be disrupted.
A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, during a special hearing on Sunday, considered the petition alleging non-compliance of the court's earlier order. The petition sought initiation of contempt proceedings for violation of instructions given against complete stoppage of metro and train services in Delhi. The bench said that prima facie a case of contempt is made out.
The court issued notices to Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and DMRC chairperson. They have been asked to file a counter affidavit by October 13, 2026 and give information about the implementation of the old order. At present the officers have been exempted from appearing personally in the court.
Important instructions regarding internet, metro and custody
The bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that lawyers, journalists and other citizens should not face any problem in doing their work. The court clarified that the direction to keep internet services running does not mean that the government's powers under the Information Technology Act have ended. However, no one can be detained without due process of law.
The court also said that the restrictions imposed under Section 163 of the Indian Civil Defense Code (BNSS) cannot be used to arrest people outside the designated area. Action in remote areas like Gurugram cannot be justified on the basis of local restrictions. When it came to light that a board giving information about Section 163 was installed around the Supreme Court, the bench asked to remove it, so that the access of people and lawyers to the court is not affected.
Lawyers raised questions on detention and police action
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Jha, alleged that the police is detaining passengers from trains. He also said that people present four kilometers away from Jantar Mantar were also caught and entry and exit at 45 metro stations were closed despite the old court order. Senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy claimed that around 45 detention centers were set up in the city and around 7,000 people, including opposition leaders, were detained. Advocate Shadan Farasat, who was arrested on Saturday, also described the police action as repressive and demanded restoration of the right to peaceful protest. At the same time, Gopal Shankaranarayanan appealed to remove the barricades and normalize the movement.
What argument did the government give in the court?
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that on October 10, entry and exit were stopped at only 45 out of 303 metro stations. According to him, this was about 15 percent of the total network. He also said that internet service has been restored and all metro stations are operational. Some petitions related to the release of detained people are also no longer relevant, as most of the people have been released. Habeas corpus petition and contempt petition related to the detention of political leaders are also pending before the court. Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court had said that the operation of metro and trains coming to Delhi cannot be stopped completely due to the protest. Restrictions can be imposed to maintain law and order, but common people should not be unnecessarily harassed.