Chief Justice Surya Kant said on Thursday that the Supreme Court will intervene if the metro station nearest to the court complex is not reopened by afternoon, Bar and Bench reported.

Kant made the comment after Supreme Court Bar Association chief Vikas Singh informed the bench that lawyers and the court staff were facing difficulties because of the station being closed.

The Supreme Court metro station had been closed by the operator citing “security reasons” for the second consecutive day. On Wednesday, the station was reopened in the evening.

This came amid youth protests in the national capital demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged mismanagement of competitive examinations.

Follow updates about the youth protest here.

The Supreme Court station was among 16 stations mostly in central Delhi that had been shut. Many of the stations are near the Jantar Mantar protest site, Parliament and government offices.

Besides the Supreme Court station, the other ones that were closed were Lok Kalyan Marg, which is near the prime minister’s residence, Rajiv Chowk located at Connaught Place, and Patel Chowk and Janpath near the protest site.

Central Secretariat, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, ITO, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg, Barakhambha Road, Delhi Gate, Indraprastha, Khan Market, Jor Bagh and Shivaji Stadium were the other stations.

On Thursday, the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign questioned the decision to close the stations, adding that “people will come to Jantar Mantar anyway”.

On Wednesday, a bench headed by Kant refused to urgently hear a petition alleging that the police used excessive force against protesters who were marching to Parliament on Monday as part of a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party. “Don’t waste our time and don’t waste your time,” legal news outlets had quoted Kant as having said.

A lawyer told the court that he can present video evidence of the police excesses. However, the bench had said that it was “not interested” in the videos. “We don’t have time to watch,” Kant was quoted as saying.

Edited by Anamika Pathak.