Supreme Court rejects blanket ban on Delhi metro and trains for Oct 10 protest, orders regulation not prohibition

On October 9, 2026, a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant held that the Delhi Police's blanket shutdown of metro and train movement ahead of the October 10 protest march at Jantar Mantar — organised to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls — was "over-reaching". The court drew a sharp distinction between total "prohibition" and "regulation", directing in a four-page order that "there shall be no outright prohibition on the movement of Metro trains" and that services must run in a "suitable and regulated manner", proportionately and with wide publicity so ordinary commuters are not inconvenienced. Recording Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's assurance that the authorities would reassess the travel prohibitions, the court also suggested the government identify an open, spacious site where people could "peacefully and lawfully" protest. (The Hindu, The South First) (The Hindu, The South First)

• On October 9, 2026, a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant held that the Delhi Police's blanket shutdown of metro and train movement ahead of the October 10 protest march at Jantar Mantar —
• The court drew a sharp distinction between total "prohibition" and "regulation", directing in a four-page order that "there shall be no outright prohibition on the movement of Metro trains" and that services must run in
• Recording Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's assurance that the authorities would reassess the travel prohibitions, the court also suggested the government identify an open, spacious site where people could "peacefully and