A special Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana will sit on Sunday, 11 October, to hear a habeas corpus plea by Menaka Guruswamy over the detention of political leaders during the Delhi protests against the Chief Election Commissioner. Her allegations are untested, and the Court has expressed no view on them.
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New Delhi: Listed for a special Sunday sitting on 11 October 2026, an Article 32 writ petition filed in the Supreme Court by Senior Advocate and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Menaka Guruswamy seeks habeas corpus against the detention of political leaders during the protests held in Delhi against the Chief Election Commissioner [Menaka Guruswamy v. Union of India & Anr., Diary No. 63858/2026].
The special Bench will comprise Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana.
Taken up with the Metro contempt plea
The Court will hear the habeas petition together with a contempt petition. That petition alleges that the closure of Delhi Metro stations and the cancellation of trains violated the Supreme Court’s order of 9 October 2026, which had recorded that there would be no complete prohibition on Metro and train movement in Delhi ahead of the 10 October protests. These contempt allegations are likewise untested.
Whose detention is challenged
Among those whose detention the petition challenges are former Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala) and Manik Sarkar (Tripura). The respondents are the Union of India and one other party.
The petition says many of the politicians were picked up from their homes and taken to undisclosed locations before they could reach the protest site. These are the petitioner’s allegations. No response from the Union of India or Delhi Police to this petition was available at the time of writing.
What the authorities have said so far
Delhi Police has described the detentions made in the city on the protest day as preventive, citing public safety and traffic management, and the Election Commission has denied wrongdoing in the electoral roll revision that the protests concerned. The petitioner’s contentions on the detention of the named leaders, and the authorities’ reply, are for the Court to consider on Sunday.
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Case Details: Menaka Guruswamy v. Union of India & Anr., Diary No. 63858/2026 (Article 32 writ petition, habeas corpus), Supreme Court of India. Bench: Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana. Listed: special Sunday sitting, October 11, 2026. Story developing.
Appearances: Counsel not yet reported. The petitioner, Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, is a Rajya Sabha member from the Trinamool Congress.