New Delhi, Oct 9: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and Delhi Police to reconsider blanket restrictions on metro and railway services ahead of Saturday’s proposed protest in the national capital, stressing that security measures must not cause unnecessary hardship to ordinary commuters.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said authorities could regulate train movements to prevent unlawful gatherings but should not impose a complete halt on public transport.
“You will not use a hammer to kill a fly,” the bench remarked, emphasising that restrictions must be proportionate to the situation.
“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,” the court observed.
The court’s intervention came after the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced the closure of 57 metro stations from 9 pm on Friday ahead of the CJP’s October 10 protest, which is seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The bench noted that the organisers were not before it and said the limited question was whether the complete suspension of metro and railway services required reconsideration.
According to the court’s order, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed to reconsider the blanket prohibition and allow metro and other trains to operate under regulated conditions to prevent inconvenience to Delhi residents.
“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 order stated.
The court directed the authorities to take a considered decision on permitting train services to operate and ensure that the revised arrangements were widely publicised.
“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,” the order said.
It further directed the authorities to issue revised advisories to ensure that commuters did not face unnecessary difficulties while travelling across the city.
The court’s observations underscored the need to balance security arrangements ahead of the proposed demonstration with the public’s ability to access essential transport services.
