Supreme Court orders Metro and internet restored after mass detentions at CJP protest

The Supreme Court on Sunday told the Centre to keep Delhi Metro and rail services running normally and internet services on, a day after police detained thousands of people trying to reach a protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, at a special Sunday sitting, said nobody should be detained “save and except by procedure established by law”, particularly people in peaceful, unarmed assemblies outside the area covered by prohibitory orders. The directions are subject to law and order conditions.

What the Supreme Court ordered on Sunday

• Metro and trains run normallyUnless regulation is needed to keep public order.
• Internet stays onSubject to law and order conditions.
• No detention outside the lawAbove all for peaceful, unarmed gatherings outside the prohibited area.
• Barricades to be reviewedPeople must be able to move freely, subject to traffic rules.
• Contempt notice to three officialsThe Union Home Secretary, the Delhi Police Commissioner and the DMRC chief.
• Back in court on 13 OctoberContempt and detention petitions to be heard together.

What happened on 10 October

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth movement that began online in May, had called a march to Jantar Mantar to demand the CEC’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Delhi Police refused permission, saying the request came too late and that the CJP had broken undertakings given at earlier protests.

Police barricaded central Delhi, closed Metro station gates and set up temporary detention centres, including stadiums. Mobile internet was suspended within 4 km of the protest site until Saturday night. Those detained during the day included Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Pinarayi Vijayan, student leader Neha Bora, Yogendra Yadav and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, along with several lawyers and journalists.

How many people were held is disputed. Delhi Police sources have put the figure at about 1,000, a Home Ministry official at about 2,000, and the CJP says more than 15,000 people were detained or stopped. No official count has been released.

Police reported stone-pelting near Akashvani Bhawan and Connaught Place, and more than 15 police personnel were reported injured. Delhi Police have registered 20 FIRs, including one against four Hindu Raksha Dal members accused of assaulting students.

The CJP leaders

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained on board their flight after it landed in Delhi from Mumbai. Delhi Police said on X: “Preventive arrest u/s 126/170 BNSS of Sh. Abhijeet Dipke, Sh. Ashutosh Ranka and Sh. Saurav Das was done on 10.10.2026.”

On Sunday morning an Executive Magistrate at Delhi Cantonment police station released all three on a ₹50,000 surety bond to keep the peace for one year, the police said. CJP legal head Ratna Singh wrote on X: “Condition - no breach of peace for one year.”

The weekend in numbers

• 45 of 303Metro stations with entry restricted on 10 October, per the Solicitor General
• 20FIRs registered by Delhi Police over the protest
• ₹50,000surety bond for each of the three CJP leaders

What the court said

The contempt petition, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, says the authorities ignored the court’s 9 October order against a complete shutdown of Metro and train services into Delhi. The bench issued notice to Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and DMRC chairperson D Thara, asking for affidavits and a compliance report.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta disputed the allegations. He told the court that entry was restricted at 45 of 303 Metro stations on 10 October and that all stations had been open since 10 pm on Saturday. A DMRC notification had ordered 57 stations closed from Friday night.

We are dutybound under Art 32 to prevent encroachment on fundamental rights.

The two sides

The CJP says it will keep protesting until the CEC resigns. “As many people as you detain, we will not go back till Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” Ajinkya Shinde, the party’s national organisation in-charge, said on Saturday. After his release, Dipke wrote on social media: “Modi, as PM, is an embarrassment to India.”

The Election Commission says the SIR removes duplicate, dead and ineligible voters and aims to stop “foreign illegal immigrants” from voting. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra called the demonstrators “anarchic elements” and said: “What is happening at Jantar Mantar, what you can see on TV and a few social media handles, is not India’s story.”

The UN human rights office asked the authorities to ensure “that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled”. India’s mission in Geneva called such concerns “misplaced” and “an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India”.

What comes next

No large gathering was seen at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. Rahul Gandhi has announced an INDIA bloc street protest for Monday, 12 October, and Congress has asked its MPs to stay in Delhi. “The more Modi and his government crack down, the more the anger of Gen Z and students will grow,” Gandhi said. The Supreme Court will take up the contempt plea and the detention petitions on Tuesday, 13 October.