Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia mentions the plea over INDIA bloc leaders’ reported entry into the Supreme Court filing counter before the CJI-led Bench. (Img: X)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred hearing a plea by advocates seeking its intervention over INDIA bloc leaders’ reported entry into the Court’s filing counter amid protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the counsel to mention the matter again on Wednesday after the listed cases were taken up.
Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia mentioned the petition before a Bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, describing the incident within the Supreme Court premises as a “sad incident”.
“Permission, may I mention a petition that has been filed by advocates regarding the sad incident that happened within the precincts of the Supreme Court?” Bhatia submitted.
When Justice Bagchi asked whether the matter was on the cause list, Bhatia said he had only recently received its diary number. The Bench asked him to mention the plea the following day after the listed matters were taken up. No substantive directions were issued.
The plea follows Monday’s protest by INDIA bloc leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, against the Election Commission of India’s SIR exercise.
The leaders marched towards the Supreme Court amid police barricades, raising concerns over the revision of electoral rolls and alleged deletion of voters’ names. The advocates’ petition seeks the Supreme Court’s intervention over the reported entry of opposition leaders into the Court’s filing counter during the protest.
Separately, Gandhi, Kharge and nine other opposition leaders have approached the Supreme Court challenging the SIR exercise. Their petition alleges irregularities in the electoral roll revision process and seeks, among other reliefs, an independent audit of voter deletions and disclosure of records concerning the Election Commission’s decisions. The advocates’ plea is expected to be mentioned again on Wednesday.
