The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred to October 15 the hearing on a batch of pleas related to the protests in Delhi, the closure of metro stations and disruptions to train services ahead of the October 10 agitations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The hearing was deferred due to the indisposition of Justice V Mohana, who joined the proceedings despite being unwell.
At the outset, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant told lawyers that Justice Mohana was unwell but had still come to court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the bench to adjourn the hearing, saying that health issues should not be ignored. Other senior advocates, including Gopal Sankaranarayanan, also agreed to the deferment.
A bench comprising the CJI and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was scheduled to hear several petitions, including a contempt plea alleging that the authorities had violated the Supreme Court's directions on metro and train services ahead of the October 10 protest.
Mehta told the bench that the time granted to the Centre to file its response to a plea alleging contempt for disobeying the apex court's direction not to completely halt metro and train services ahead of the October 10 protest was till Tuesday.
"The affidavit is ready. I would like to add something to make it more comprehensive," Mehta said.
The bench extended the time for filing the affidavit and directed that it be supplied to the counsel appearing for the petitioners.
Earlier, the court had assured petitioners that their matters would be listed for hearing after several pleas were mentioned for urgent listing before the three-judge bench.
"We will list all these matters. Make sure that the defects are cured," the CJI told senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who mentioned the matter.
Sankaranarayanan told the bench that he was seeking an urgent hearing on a contempt plea filed by a journalist alleging a violation of the Supreme Court's October 11 order.
On October 11, the top court had said people gathering peacefully should not be illegally detained. It had also asked the Centre to ensure that Delhi Metro services functioned normally and that internet services were not disrupted, subject to law-and-order conditions.
Delhi has witnessed several protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
(With inputs from PTI)
