The court told senior advocate Kapil Sibal that Rahul Gandhi will have to give an explanation
The Supreme Court has asked Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to explain his conduct during the INDIA bloc’s October 12 march to the court. While issuing notice on the Opposition’s petition over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the bench observed that nobody can browbeat the judiciary.
What the court said
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard the matter on Thursday. The court said it would issue notice on the plea, but would also seek an explanation from one of the petitioners over his conduct, a reference to Gandhi. The CJI told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Gandhi, that Gandhi “will have to give an explanation.”
Notice on the SIR plea
The plea, filed by Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders, alleges large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the SIR exercise. The court issued notice to the Election Commission, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, asking for their responses. The petitioners also want a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit SIR deletions and to review the processes around electronic voting machines.
The court also issued notices to the Centre and the Election Commission on pleas filed by INDIA bloc leaders and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
A contempt plea over the march
Another petition seeks criminal contempt proceedings against several Opposition leaders, including Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Mahua Moitra, over the march. It relates to the alleged violation of the court’s direction that there should be no “complete prohibition” on Metro and train services in Delhi during the October 10 protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party. Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for the petitioner, called the conduct unacceptable.
The court issued notice on that plea as well, and said the conduct of the leaders needs to be examined.
CCTV footage to be preserved
To establish what happened, the court directed all law enforcement agencies to preserve CCTV and other digital records from October 12. It also allowed private parties to submit video material for review.
Jantar Mantar issue
The bench also agreed to examine a plea challenging the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, and it sought a reply from the Delhi government.
What next
The reports I found do not include a response from Gandhi or Congress to the court’s remarks.
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Pappu has a right to challenge & speak against Supreme Court for it is his freedom which SC has upheld that anyone in problems they can walk-in and share the grudges. Strongly support Pappu on this factor.
Time that SC is brought to kneels & show their own mirror. They are worse than parasites.