NEW DELHI — Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan has submitted an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court in response to a contempt notice regarding the enforcement of public restrictions in the national capital, affirming that the government had no intention of deliberately violating judicial directions.
In an affidavit addressing the court’s October 9 order, Mohan stated that the administrative measures were initiated strictly to safeguard public peace and avoid law-and-order disruptions. He noted that the decision was prompted by an impending demonstration organized without official authorization, taken in light of past security challenges faced by the Delhi Police during the July 20 protests surrounding the NEET examination leak.
The Supreme Court had previously instructed the central government to lift blanket bans on essential services and ensure any enforcement measures avoided causing widespread hardship to residents. Responding to scrutiny over telecommunications curbs, Mohan submitted that a 24-hour cellular data suspension was a proportionate, lawful intervention carried out at the request of local law enforcement.
The temporary outage remained confined to a four-kilometer radius around Raisina Hill, operating from 10:00 p.m. on October 9 until 10:00 p.m. on October 10, while wired broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity remained unaffected. Urging the bench to discharge the contempt notice, Mohan also requested a modification of the court’s subsequent October 11 directive to preserve the administration’s ability to impose emergency internet restrictions when strictly required under established legal safeguards.
