Supreme Court Steps In as Delhi’s Mass Detentions Spark Fears of a New Emergency

The Supreme Court of India convened an unusual Sunday session to wrestle with a wave of arrests, transport paralysis and what many are calling an assault on basic freedoms across New Delhi. The bench, composed of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, heard frantic pleas from lawyers, journalists and opposition figures who said the city was being treated like a war zone.

According to senior counsel Menaka Guruswamy, the police had pulled protesters off incoming trains, held them inside grounded aircraft and even snatched people from street rallies. She painted a bleak picture, calling the situation an “unimposed Emergency” – a phrase that instantly raised eyebrows in the courtroom.

Other lawyers echoed the concern. Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, looking visibly rattled, remarked, “Yesterday we were one step away from a police state.” He added that several members of the legal fraternity themselves had been carted off in police vans and, in some cases, physically assaulted.

The scale of the crackdown, petitioners claimed, was staggering. Rough estimates floated between 6,000 and 7,000 individuals detained – a number that allegedly includes former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, as well as a host of opposition leaders and journalists.

Adding to the drama, the demonstrations had erupted over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a move spearheaded by the so‑called Cockroach Janta Party. Protesters demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of engineering dubious deletions from voter lists.

On the other side of the fence, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tried to calm the nerves. He pointed out that Delhi’s Metro was still running a full schedule – 4,157 trips a day – and that entry restrictions applied to only 45 of the 303 stations. He also insisted that the internet had already been restored and that most detainees were released after a brief, lawful custodial period.

Justice Bagchi, however, reminded everyone that the courts “are agnostic to the individual” – whether police officer, lawyer or ordinary citizen – and underscored the judiciary’s duty to protect life and liberty for all.

The bench laid out three concrete tests the state must satisfy to justify the arrests: the circumstances of each detention, the manner in which they were carried out, and the legal basis for them. In addition, the Court ordered that Metro services continue unabated, internet services stay online, and that lawyers be allowed to practice without obstruction.

To ensure compliance, the Court demanded a detailed affidavit by Tuesday, complete with a map of the stations where restrictions were imposed. As the hearing drags on, both sides continue to file submissions, and the nation watches closely, uneasy about what this could mean for democratic norms in the capital.