The Supreme Court has issued notices to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party and other INDIA bloc leaders over a protest march against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on October 12, which allegedly led to disorder on the court premises.
During Thursday’s hearing, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed concern over the incident and said Rahul Gandhi would have to explain his conduct and the purpose of the protest. The Chief Justice also made it clear that political pressure could not be used to influence the judiciary.
The notices were issued in response to petitions filed by four lawyers concerning the incident. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared before the court on behalf of Rahul Gandhi. Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta raised concerns about the protest during the proceedings.
On October 12, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched towards the Supreme Court to protest against the Election Commission. Rahul subsequently went to submit a petition, but it was eventually filed through a lawyer as the registry’s filing deadline was approaching.
Supreme Court Issues Notice on SIR Process
In a separate matter, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Central Government and the Election Commission of India on petitions filed by INDIA bloc leaders and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The petitioners claimed that approximately 13 crore voters had been excluded during the exercise.
The court also sought responses from the Centre and Delhi Police on a petition challenging the removal of Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar apologised to the Supreme Court in a contempt case concerning restrictions imposed in central Delhi during a CJAR protest on October 10.
The developments highlight ongoing legal challenges concerning electoral roll revisions, political demonstrations and restrictions on public protests.