Can’t Be Complete Prohibition On Delhi Metro, Trains: SC Tells Modi Govt

New Delhi: “You can’t use a sledgehammer to kill a fly,” the Supreme Court said on Friday as it questioned the government over unprecedented curbs in the Capital ahead of the protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday. The court told the Centre that there cannot be a complete prohibition on Metro and other train services.

Expressing concerns for commuters, the court told the Centre that everything cannot be shut as people travel from all parts of the city and asked it to reconsider the restrictions on metro and trains.

“Young people, elderly all travel. Commuters have a right to basic facilities,” the court told the Centre’s lawyer, asking for the number of closed Metro station to be brought down. “There is a disctinction between restriction and complete closure,” the court noted.

The court made these observations while hearing a petition against closures of metro stations and cancellation of trains by CPM general secretary MA Baby.

“All trains are cancelled, Metro stations are closed. You cannot move anywhere. What is happening to my country? This is a peaceful protest,” Senior advocate and MP Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, told the court.

“We are primarily concerned about the complete closure of these metro station entrances. Our concern is not about any specific protester or individual; rather, it is about the hundreds and thousands of commuters who travel to Delhi from Gurugram, Greater Noida, East Delhi, and South Delhi for their livelihoods,” CJI Surya Kant told the Solicitor General.