‘Nobody can browbeat us’: CJI on INDIA bloc march to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday, October 15, issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on a petition filed by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders challenging decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. 

During the hearing, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said that the court could not be intimidated by political processions, observing, “Nobody can browbeat us.”

A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice on the petition, which raises allegations of irregularities in the ECI's functioning and seeks the suspension of the SIR exercise, including in poll-bound states. The bench said it would examine the responses and hear petitions challenging the SIR process state-wise, rather than clubbing all the matters together.

The court's observations came amid arguments by senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, who referred to a memorandum signed by around 200 lawyers expressing concern over the October 12 march led by Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders to the Supreme Court premises.

Bhatia argued that the gathering amounted to an attempt to pressure the judiciary and said that the incident had caused concern among lawyers. The CJI responded, “These are feeble attempts that nobody takes note of.”

“We are not sitting in ivory towers. We know what statements they make outside and what they say in court. We know everything,” the CJI said.

The bench also clarified that issuing notice on the INDIA bloc's petition did not mean that the court approved of the political leaders' conduct. “We would also ask one of the petitioners about his conduct,” the CJI said.

During the hearing, Bhatia also referred to an alleged incident in which a journalist who was three months pregnant was pushed during the October 12 march, claiming that she sustained injuries. He sought the preservation of CCTV footage from the premises where the incident allegedly occurred.

The bench directed the preservation of CCTV recordings and other digital material related to the incident. It also directed law enforcement agencies to preserve CCTV footage and other digital material collected by them.

The Supreme Court also issued notice on pleas seeking guidelines to regulate demonstrations and processions around judicial complexes, including the Supreme Court and High Courts. The petitions seek restrictions on political protests inside court premises, preservation of security records and CCTV footage, and guidelines against political campaigns intended to influence pending judicial proceedings. One plea also seeks consideration of criminal contempt proceedings against the political leaders named in it.

The INDIA bloc petition challenges the ECI's decision-making process concerning the SIR exercise and seeks greater transparency in the revision of electoral rolls. The petitioners have sought the production of records relating to the exercise, including files, minutes, notings, and objections recorded by Election Commissioners on disputed decisions, as well as access logs for ECINET and ERONET.

Among the other reliefs sought are an independent audit of voter deletions and electoral-roll databases, booth-wise publication of deleted voters' names and the reasons for their removal, and a mechanism to restore eligible voters' names. The petitioners have also sought a direction that no voter be removed from the electoral rolls without notice and an opportunity to be heard.

The plea further seeks that the online Form 6 process conform to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and that eligible voters in Punjab and other poll-bound states be allowed to apply for inclusion in the electoral rolls until the last date for applications. The petitioners have also sought suspension of the SIR exercise across states pending adjudication.

The petition was filed by Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M A Baby, CPI leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Mahua Majhi, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, and Indian Union Muslim League leader ET Mohammed Basheer, among others.

The October 12 march followed an earlier request by Opposition leaders to meet the CJI and submit a memorandum concerning the SIR exercise and the functioning of the ECI. The CJI had declined the request, stating that the issues were already pending before the Supreme Court and that the leaders could approach the court through its judicial process for appropriate relief.