Supreme Court to hear Menaka Guruswamy plea on detained opposition leaders
A special two-judge bench will convene on Sunday after several senior politicians were picked up ahead of Delhi protests.
Senior Advocate and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Menaka Guruswamy has approached the Supreme Court with a habeas corpus petition, challenging the detention of several high-profile political figures during demonstrations in the capital on Saturday.
A special two-judge bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana will assemble on Sunday to hear the urgent petition.
The writ petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, lists former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar among those taken into custody. According to the filing, police picked up several leaders directly from their residences and moved them to undisclosed locations before they could reach the demonstration venue.
What the petition alleges
The detentions took place against the backdrop of organised protests in Delhi directed at the Chief Election Commissioner. According to Guruswamy's plea, the pre-emptive detentions deprived political leaders of their liberty without lawful process, cutting them off from public access and legal counsel.
The case has been registered as Diary Number 63858-2026, titled Menaka Guruswamy versus Union of India and Another. It asks the court to direct authorities to produce the detained leaders immediately and test the legality of their confinement.
Sunday sitting and contempt plea
The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the habeas plea in a rare Sunday sitting, combining it with an existing contempt petition over transit restrictions across the capital.
That contempt application accuses authorities of shutting down Delhi Metro stations and cancelling inbound train services in breach of an earlier Supreme Court directive issued on 9 October. Petitioners argue the transit closures were calculated to prevent demonstrators from assembling peacefully.
The court is expected to consider whether the preventative custody of political figures and the widespread transit shutdowns amounted to an unlawful suppression of the right to assemble and move freely.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Case diary number | Diary No. 63858-2026 | Supreme Court registry filing details |
| Number of judges on special bench | 2 | Supreme Court cause list |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| Delhi | Location where political protests and detentions occurred |
| Menaka Guruswamy | Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP who filed the habeas corpus petition |
| Supreme Court of India | Apex court hearing the habeas corpus and contempt petitions on Sunday |
