CJI Surya Kant declines meeting with INDIA bloc leaders

Chief Justice Surya Kant has declined the INDIA bloc’s request for a meeting, advising Opposition leaders to file a petition. The bloc plans a Supreme Court march demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and electoral reforms over alleged irregularities in voter roll revision 

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has declined a request by the Congress-led INDIA bloc of Opposition parties for a meeting, advising them to approach the court through a petition instead, ahead of their planned march to the Supreme Court on Monday.

According to sources, the CJI conveyed that the issues the Opposition leaders intend to raise are already sub judice and are being heard by the Supreme Court. The CJI is learnt to have said that the court cannot meet a delegation representing a political party at the administrative level in this manner.

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He reportedly emphasised that the judiciary’s role is to hear petitions and deliver judgments. He also reiterated that the doors of the Supreme Court, as the country’s highest judicial body, are “open 24 hours a day for all” and that it remains “committed to protecting the fundamental rights of every citizen”.

Despite the refusal, the INDIA bloc’s proposed march is likely to proceed on Monday. The demonstration is part of a series of protests by Opposition parties, which have demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, among other issues.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has maintained that the planned march is “not of a political party, but of all Indians”. The Congress leader is seeking to broaden the campaign’s reach and build pressure on both the Chief Election Commissioner and the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre.

Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the government has benefited from the SIR exercise, which has become a major point of contention between the Opposition and the Election Commission. The INDIA bloc had submitted a charter of demands to President Droupadi Murmu last Friday, outlining four key demands related to electoral reforms and alleged vote manipulation. These include the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and the repeal of the 2023 law that provides legal immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

The Opposition has also demanded an immediate suspension of the SIR exercise and the restoration of all 13.3 crore voters allegedly deleted from electoral rolls.

Earlier on Sunday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge targeted the CEC over the legal protection provided to the head of the Election Commission of India and its members under the 2023 law, alleging that the government had introduced the legislation to protect them from legal action.

“To create such an atmosphere, PM Modi brought the 2023 Act to protect the Chief Election Commissioner and members. That immunity he gave. That immunity is not even for the President of India, not the Chief Justice, but that is given to one Election Commissioner,” he said.