Escalating the legal battle over the state-wide security clampdown in the national capital, the Supreme Court of India has announced a special Sunday sitting on October 11, 2026.
A special bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana will take up two major petitions concerning alleged violations of judicial orders and the sweeping preventive detentions of prominent opposition figures during the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) anti-CEC demonstration.
Contempt Plea Over Transport Shutdown
The first matter involves a contempt petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi against Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, and DMRC Chairperson D. Thara.
The petition accuses authorities of willful disobedience and non-compliance with the apex court’s October 9 directives. In its earlier ruling, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant explicitly directed authorities to lift blanket restrictions on metro and railway networks, asserting that security measures cannot result in a complete shutdown of public transport or cause undue hardship to millions of commuters. Despite the ruling, 45 metro stations remained closed and numerous inbound trains were canceled on Saturday.
Habeas Corpus Petition Filed Against Mass Detentions
In parallel, senior advocate and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Menaka Guruswamy has filed an Article 32 writ petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus against the aggressive preventive detentions of political leaders.
The petition challenges the detention of several key opposition leaders—including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar—many of whom were picked up from their residences or streets before reaching the protest venues.
“Such preventive detentions cannot be used to suppress the fundamental right to peaceful protest, particularly against leaders who have previously governed States,” Guruswamy noted regarding the petition.
With political tensions running high and the opposition announcing plans for a mega-demonstration in the capital on October 12, Sunday’s special bench proceedings are expected to address critical questions regarding constitutional rights, freedom of movement, and executive overreach.
