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Supreme Court mulls 24X7 emergency protocol to protect life, liberty

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription Updated - July 14, 2026 02:48 pm IST - NEW DELHI Supreme Court. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) agreed to consider framing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to allow citizens to knock on the doors of the courts any time, day or night, in cases affecting life and liberty, including illegal detentions, imminent demolition of homes, deportations, custodial violence or other state actions. Also Read | Why judicial holidays are necessary A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a petition filed by an apex court advocate, Maheravish Rein, who said the courts cannot afford to close especially in the background of credible reports of late-night arrests, early morning demolition drives and deportation or executive actions undertaken during weekends or holidays. “The absence of a structured and institutionalised mechanism ensuring continuous judicial accessibility may result in irreversible consequences before affected persons are able to approach constitutional courts… The protection of liberty cannot remain dependent upon the temporal boundaries of court schedules. In a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law, the Constitution cannot fall silent at night, nor can the protection of liberty await the morning bell of the courts,” Ms. Rein submitted. The judge said a “graded approach” to access to justice after court hours cannot be interpreted as a denial of justice. The Chief Justice responded that State High Courts did not come within the administrative ambit of the Supreme Court in a federal set-up, indicating that the petition may have to be heard and orders passed on the judicial side.