India’s Supreme Court said on October 9 that the capital’s metro cannot be completely shut.

It said an entire city cannot be shut down because of protests.

Authorities may regulate movement in proportion to the risk.

On October 10, mobile internet was cut in central Delhi.

Metro access was limited at 45 stations.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the measures as meant to maintain law and order.

The Solicitor General told the bench that the competent authority would consider designating a place other than Jantar Mantar for peaceful protests.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi and Prashant Bhushan argued against the restrictions, and Singhvi said that preventive measures of this scale could not be justified when no incident had occurred.

The order does not strike down the restrictions outright, and authorities can still regulate the movement of Metro and trains.

On October 10, entry and exit were limited at 45 Metro stations until 6 pm, and interchange was available everywhere except at New Delhi station, according to Careerindia.

About 45 stations had been closed from 9 pm on October 9 for security reasons, according to ThePrint.

Mobile internet was shut within a four-kilometre radius of Janpath and Kartavya Path from 10 pm on October 9 to 10 pm on October 10, according to Careerindia.

Train arrivals at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations were curtailed, according to ThePrint.

Delhi University’s School of Open Learning and Campus of Open Learning suspended weekend sessions on October 10 and 11.

Dyal Singh College asked faculty to hold undergraduate classes online because of expected Metro closures.

Several institutes under Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University postponed mid-semester exams, and many schools moved classes online.

Commuters are advised to check Delhi Traffic Police and Delhi Metro advisories for the latest restrictions.

The Supreme Court rejected a blanket shutdown of Delhi’s Metro and rail services ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party protest on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Delhi Metro station (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0