Justice Joymalya Bagchi: When you give your affidavit, we will require clarity there. The thing is, initially you proposed a closure of 57 stations. Then pursuant to our order, 45 stations were closed down. We would like you to indicate what was the status of these 45 stations.
So understand, let us say your 113 stations are on a linear plane, where 20 stations at one end and 20 stations at the other end are open, but in the middle the entire access is closed. We have to examine that issue. So when you give your counter or your compliance, please show on a map which stations were open and what were the stations which were closed, which would be relevant for our understanding of the accessibility and the nature of regulation. All right?
Mehta: A full complement of 4,157 train trips were run on 10th October as per the schedule across the network.
So what proportionately and as per the instructions given by the law enforcement agency, the Delhi Metro did was this. There are a total of 303 stations in the entire route of the Metro, starting point to end point. Entry and exit regulations were restricted to only 45 out of 303 stations across the Metro network, accounting for only 15 percent of the entire network.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta: But I must point out this to Your Lordships. These are my oral instructions, which would come by way of an affidavit also.
There was no curtailment of any metro service on the 10th. There was zero reduction in the total volume of metro operations on the 10th. Trains were inducted strictly as per the standard Saturday schedule, with 271 trains inducted into service on 10th October.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta: As it was, regarding the habeas corpus, there is a statutory regime that was followed. Most of these people mentioned here were picked up at 2 p.m. and they were released at around 6 o'clock.
So far as the habeas prayer is concerned, that may perhaps not survive. It is for them.
The question of legality, I will be very cool and I will be composed, because that's what a lawyer is expected. So far as the legality of the arrest is concerned, it is for them to decide, because they are before this court.. But for which I have to file, I am not giving the justification.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta: I don't have a prepared speech to rebut all of this. I will do as I should.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: If you have a speech, it is not needed because you can do an extempore here.
Senior Advocate Arundhati Katju: AI can help you.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta: I don't know about that.
Senior Advocate Arundhati Katju: It is for the State to answer and to assure citizens that these rights are protected, are not under a state of suspension, and are available to exercise.
Therefore, because as Justice Mohana said, we are here today because we have faith in the Court. We have come back to Your Lordships on a Sunday in an exigent situation because we are here for the Court to protect our rights.
Guruswamy: We are asking only for contempt action to be taken vis-à-vis Your Lordships' own order. Why give them time till Tuesday to explain why they disobeyed the metro being functional on Saturday and Sunday, and arguably Monday and Tuesday, and Section 163 outside the gates of the Supreme Court? So this is the sum and substance. Please do not give them more time to continue disobeying Your Lordships' order. That is the request here. Because the disobedience is not just to Your Lordships. It is a disobedience to the spirit and the text of the Constitution.
Guruswamy: What is at stake is the suspension of citizens' peacefully exercised constitutional rights. That is what you are considering. The last time this Court had to consider such requests, such challenges, was at the time of the Emergency. We come back to you almost 50 years later because the Court at that point passed ADM Jabalpur. Your Lordships have the opportunity not to do that. That is why we are here today.
Guruswamy: When the habeas corpus was filed, we did not know how many lawyers, journalists, students had been actually detained. I want to be clear. I want to be clear...And Your Lordships today are confronted with a situation where, in the past, Your Lordships have passed judgments which have said that only in the context of Emergency can Article 19 rights be suspended. Your Lordships, on a Sunday morning, are assembled here today because something graver is at stake.
Guruswamy: What has happened is that young people have taken to lawful protests, which the Constitution recognises, to peacefully assemble and protest because they feel that the election system is not fair.
Now the prayer is there. Now the point is this. The interim prayer is there. I take Your Lordships to the contempt prayer as well. Now the point is this. The Constitution says in Article 358 that Article 19 rights can be restricted only in the case when an Emergency is imposed. So is the State saying to us that they have brought in an unimposed Emergency? That is the first point.
Guruswamy: Item two is the classic relief in times like this, which is habeas, because at the time we filed it, we were not aware of the magnitude of people who had been taken away.
Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy: Why are we all here? And why have we troubled Your Lordships this morning?
It is because of this. That it is not just that the State is in contempt of Your Lordships' earlier order, whereby the metro stations have not been opened.
It is not just as if the State has not disconnected internet.
It is not just that by disrupting the metro service, you take away my ability to move, transport, etc.
It is not just that the internet in this part of Delhi has been disconnected.
It is not just that 7,000 people are reported to have been detained, with the State not providing anyone any official numbers.
It is not just that 45 detention centres are reported to have been set up all over Delhi.
It is not just that opposition leaders have been picked up, often from their parliamentary homes. It is not just that Members of Parliament have been barricaded into their homes and then taken away and run around the city in jailhouse vans.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: Also note the last paragraph of our earlier order, which requires a compliance report.
Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy: Yes.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: What we propose to do, Madam, is ask the State as well as the alleged contemnors to file their response to your petition as well as a compliance report on our order.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: We understand the concern and the gargantuan measure of these actions, and that is why we hope to hear the respondents.
Counsel: With Your Lordships' permission, I represent some police officers. Your Lordships would have seen the people from the protests, where there are individuals who are supposed to be law-abiding citizens.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: Police officers do not have an independent right in maintenance of law and order over and above the State's submission. So you please assist the SG.
Counsel: Just kindly hear me. An individual officer, maybe a retired IPS officer. May just kindly hear me. May just kindly hear me.... brutality has also happened insofar as the police officers are concerned, and massive brutality has happened to the police officers.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: Courts are agnostic to the individual who is the subject, be it a police officer, be it a lawyer, or be it an ordinary citizen. The response and the concern of the Court to protect life and liberty is equally sensitive. All right? So don't worry.
Counsel: I have filed an intervention on behalf of the former Commissioner of Police.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: We are not passing any order on these unlisted matters as of now. Let us hear the listed matters first, and then we will pass a composite order.
Senior Advocate Shoeb Alam: Because my concern today is this. There are people who are being detained on trains, and these are all because of micro-journalism, which is the trend of the day. And the flavour of our generation is based on the younger generation also. Everything gets reported.
There are passengers who are being pulled out who are coming to Delhi. There are people who are being detained from outside Delhi, like in the NCR region, in Gurgaon, in Noida, etc.
People's houses have been raided in this attempt to ensure that they don't reach the protest site.
Now, for them to go to some other part of the city where the Section 163 order is not there, which means beyond the jurisdictional limits of Parliament Street subdivision, and which is where the Section 163 order is, they cannot be prevented from doing that. Because they haven't committed any sin at the point in time when they are being detained. What is happening is also this, that they are being detained for less than 24 hours and then being released. There is technically no violation of the law.
However, what happens is this, that by colourable exercise of power, their right to protest, which has been guaranteed by the Constitution makers, innumerably, and even by this Court, is now being infringed. So that is why, please see the magnitude of the scale and the magnitude of the problem that we are facing. 7,000 to 6,000 people have been detained. There are three former Chief Ministers, etc., who have also been detained. Several Leaders of Opposition...
Woman Counsel: We were about 150 lawyers who had collected in front of MC Setalvad chambers yesterday, and we had just started the walk. Peacefully, we were walking, and there they were at the red light. Four of us were picked up. We were three lawyers and one other gentleman. We were picked up and taken in a police van, prison van. And the lady who was pushing and hustling me, I said, "You don't have a name. I don't know who you are. So I don't know whether you even belong to the Delhi Police."
So while I was asking her this question, they didn't allow me to even wait for a second. They pushed me into the van, and they took us. And we tried to tell them that we are marching peacefully, and the Supreme Court has given us permission. If there is any violence, then you could have taken action. We had just started the march, and this is what had happened. So I thought I should bring it to the notice of...
Unnamed counsel makes submissions: The way things are being presented, I just want to show one thing. I was very active against all these kinds of things. And I protested to a senior that you people don't come here... what the police... A very beautiful line which was spoken by a senior lawyer, God bless his soul. He said, "A lawyer's job is in the court, not in the street. If you go into the street, that's what you want to do now."
Counsel representing petitioners oppose...
SCAORA President urges lawyers for silence.
Justice Bagchi: I request everyone to remain silent. What Mr. Gopal said may not have been very palatable. That's absolutely right. But still, permit Mr. Gopal to speak. The same way....
Justice Mohana: Already you have been represented, and we are here to assist all of you.
Advocate: And this is what I wanted to say. When you make a tweet to the world at large and insinuate the Supreme Court, saying that what the Supreme Court is doing in all these matters is actually defamatory. And I'll show that in case... I must be a party here because I have to show another thing to safeguard the institution. It is also our job. They can't have...
Court: We will hear
Devvrat: Only one aspect. For four kilometres, the internet was shut down. We have a few courts which are totally virtual, online. The advocate was not able to access the court also. The court was shut down. Our chambers are all around the Supreme Court. Lawyers were lifted from our chambers, and we were not in our chambers. We appear before tribunals also, before the Calcutta High Court also. Yesterday, the Supreme Court was not working, but we were not able to access the internet at all, and we have put that submission.
SCAORA President Devvrat: We are seeking relief regarding our AORs, our members, former members, and what has been done to the leadership. It is also former members.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde: This Court operates through Advocates-on-Record. Access to justice is also access to lawyers. If lawyers are prevented from doing their duties, it is this Court's dignity which is directly impacted. Today, the Solicitor General is here. He is the leader of the Bar. He has to ensure that every lawyer in this city can access his clients, provide justice right at the police station.
Yesterday, lawyers who went to the Sanjay Colony police station in Maidan Garhi were detained for hours. They were beaten. Some of them have worked with me. And policemen threatened lawyers with FIRs.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan: We have several videos which they wear as badge of honour. I just want to describe it to you. I just have to highlight the important points because I must tell Your Lordships, this is something which actually has brought a lot of emotions among a lot of us because we have found how close it has come to our doorstep.
Justice Bagchi: Now the question is, as Gopal, your senior Mr Venugopal.. has already indicated that a plea has been filed.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan: So I'm explicating these three points.
Let me just explicate three points. We are requesting Your Lordships to direct, as of today, without waiting for notices, enquiries, etc., we are requesting as of today that the free movement be completely restored, all these barricades across the entirety of Delhi be absolutely removed, and the metro stations be absolutely restored.
47 were closed despite Your Lordships giving a direction that 56 is too many. They feel 47 is okay. That is not all right, and the trains that had to be stopped continue to remain stopped. So no changes were made despite assurances given to Your Lordships. That is one.
Secondly, people have to be brought to account about this. Police without badges continued. We have mentioned, we have shown photographs as well. That should not have been permitted. From June onwards, Your Lordships will recollect this is an issue that I have flagged repeatedly. It has gone to the committee, we have made representations, nothing has come forthwith. We hope that Your Lordships will direct that the police will be forbidden from doing this anymore and those who are responsible for it will be held accountable.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: We either pass an order on them today, or we post them on Monday.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan: Now, what I have handed over is also in a pen drive, if Your Lordships want to see the videos. But these are screengrabs from those. So Your Lordships can just see what the points are. So there is action against lawyers.
Mr. Dinesh Dwivedi, Ms. Uttara Babbar and Shadan Farasat. All three were detained at different points and well outside the perimeter of Jantar Mantar. Well outside. One was in Safdarjung. Another one was peacefully marching with some lawyers outside the Supreme Court.
From what I understand, even right now Section 144 has been imposed outside the Supreme Court. If this is correct, is what lawyers have told me... In my view, it's extremely shocking..Permission should have been taken of the authorities here before anything of that sort could be permitted. The second, if Your Lordships notice, is the nature of the violence that is perpetrated. If Your Lordships see those videos one by one which we have placed, you'll find that it's not even a question of proportionality...The first question is necessity, then comes proportionality.
Necessity to detain individuals moving peacefully, unarmed, children, students, to beat them, hit them, kick them and have scuffles with them was completely and utterly uncalled for...This is something we have raised with Your Lordships.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan: I have not moved a separate petition. It is raised in that petition. It is raised in that petition. It is unfortunate. These are lawyers, practising lawyers, who have lost their right to even move around in the city. It is that bad. The pictures are self-explanatory.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: We know you all are aggrieved by what happened yesterday. We are not here to trivialise what happened.
Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat: I was also brutalised yesterday, along with a large number of lawyers. But our question was not only in respect of lawyers. The question we are raising is that we are part of a larger subset of citizens of this country. We don't have any separate special rights as lawyers.
So all we are submitting is this. Yesterday, the situation in the city was, I can say, remarkably suppressive. A person was not even allowed to stand on the street. They were just picking and throwing people. My specific instance was, I was thrown into a moving bus after being picked up. That is what happened to me. But this is not about individuals or lawyers. It's about the citizens' right to protest.
And what we are saying, I say this with all responsibility, the sense I got was that yesterday we were one step away from a police state. And what we are requesting the Court is really that kindly restore the right of the citizens of this country to peacefully protest in the capital of the country.
Yesterday, it was destroyed. That's the only thing.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal: This is an issue that is not in MA Baby's case, because it happened yesterday. But there couldn't be in MA Baby, because they are picking up people from trains, from people outside the four-kilometre...
Justice Bagchi: There is a four-kilometre embargo from the centre of Jantar Mantar... So therefore, that's the next one. And then, the issue of the suspension of the internet.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal: These are two matters. These two matters are covered by Anuradha Bhasin.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal: There are several prayers, which we find at page 23, which are much larger matters than the issue of contempt. But we must first thank you for this extraordinary sitting, that you have been kind enough to come.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: There is nothing to thank us.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal: No, this extraordinary sitting, which is why you have been kind enough.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: We are always at the service of the nation.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal: Thank you!
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: There is already a habeas corpus by Dr. Maneka.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal: That's correct.
Venugopal: Please list this tomorrow and have them file their replies
Court: We will
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: Yes. So, Mr. Venugopal, you are seeking issuance of a rule of contempt, right?
Senior Advocate KK Venugopal: Yes.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: Now, we have already got a petition of similar..we can list on Monday..We will come to that after hearing the Solicitor General. We would like a response and a posting of the matter. We can give you options. One, we post this matter as a fresh matter on Monday, or when we hear the other listed matter and whatever directions we pass, we combine your matter to be tagged with that matter.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: Yes. The points are all common, so there is no issue. Therefore, we will understand what the problem is, one by one, and then we will take up this matter.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta: If the request is for unlisted matters to be registered and listed, I cannot have any objection.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: Let Mr Venugopal address
Justice Joymalya Bagchi: We understand that there are a number of lawyers, including many youngsters, who wish to make unlisted mentions. We would not like, because of the assemblage here, to create either inconvenience to any lawyer or deny anyone an opportunity of hearing. So what we propose to do is to call from the right to the left and give everyone an opportunity. If they are making oral mentions, we will ask them to take up these two matters.
Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Menaka Guruswamy, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Arundhati Katju and Sanjay Hegde are present in the courtroom.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta along with Additional Solicitor General SV Raju is also there.
Former Attorney General KK Venugopal has also joined the proceedings via VC.
The hearing has not started yet.
Courtroom 5 of the top court is jam-packed with lawyers.
The Supreme Court is holding a special hearing on Sunday on petitions challenging the preventive detention of thousands of protesters, including opposition leaders and four former Chief Ministers, amid a massive crackdown on protests called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and various other political parties.
The protestors were seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar amid growing criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has resulted in the deletion of millions of voters' names.
The authorities had shut down Delhi Metro services to prevent protesters from travelling to Jantar Mantar.
CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained inside an aircraft after it landed. Former Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar were also detained by the police.
Among those who have approached the Court are Trinamool Congress MP and Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy and advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi.
While Guruswamy has challenged the detentions and the police action of picking up protesters from the streets, Tripathi has filed a separate contempt petition, alleging that Delhi Metro stations remained closed on Sunday despite the Court's October 9 order against a complete shutdown of public transport ahead of the protests.
Live updates from the hearing below.