Six Delhi Metro stations shut ahead of Congress march to Supreme Court

Six metro stations in central Delhi will be shut for entry and exit on Monday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced early Monday morning. Janpath, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk and Patel Chowk will be closed from 6 am to 4 pm, DMRC said, ahead of the Congress' march to the Supreme Court.

Interchange facilities will be available at interchange stations. The opposition party on Sunday had called for a march to the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon to meet Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and submit a memorandum to him amid protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi issued a “Chalo Dilli” call, urging students, civil society organisations, and Opposition parties to join a march to the Supreme Court, where an Opposition delegation was supposed to meet the CJI. The march is scheduled to begin at 1.30 pm from the Connaught Place-Barakhamba Road junction and end at the Supreme Court, around 2 km away.

Meanwhile, the security situation remained tense as the CJP has still not called off its protest. CJP posted on social media informing its supporters to not leave Delhi yet. CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka posted on X saying they would go to the police to get a date to hold a peaceful protest. “Tomorrow at 10AM, me, Saurav Das, Ratna Singh and other CJP leaders will go to Parliamentary Street Police Station to get a date for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar.

Delhi Police can give us a date for Jantar Mantar in 24 hours, or we will give another protest call ourselves,” he said. Metro closure despite SC directions These closures come even as the Supreme Court on Sunday directed the authorities to ensure that free and smooth movement of people is allowed, Metro and train services function normally, and internet services are not disrupted — all subject to law and order conditions.

A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana held a special sitting to hear petitions challenging the restrictions put in place on Saturday, allegedly in contempt of the court’s directions on Friday. Saying that there was a prima facie contempt case, the bench issued notices to the Centre, Delhi Police and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to file affidavits and submit compliance reports.

The restrictions on Monday are far less severe than Saturday when 45 stations, with many even located far beyond central Delhi, were shut for entry and exit.