The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea on October 15 seeking a ban on political protests inside court premises. The petition followed a march by Rahul Gandhi and other leaders on Monday. The court will now examine the matter alongside other ongoing protests linked to electoral roll revision issues.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on October 15 a plea seeking a complete ban on political demonstrations within court premises and contempt proceedings against political leaders accused of obstructing the judicial system. The matter will be taken up along with other petitions linked to protests in Delhi.
The plea referred to the large crowd seen in the apex court on Monday when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders marched to the court to file a petition on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The matter was mentioned before the court by senior advocate and BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to list the plea for hearing on Thursday. Seeking an urgent listing, Bhatia said the plea had been filed by a lawyer in connection with what had happened in the apex court on Monday.
The plea has named the Centre, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and others as respondents. On Monday, Gandhi and 10 other prominent opposition leaders, along with their supporters, went to the Supreme Court to file a petition over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls.
The national capital has seen several protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR process. The plea has sought the setting up of an independent committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by technical experts and other eminent citizens, to carry out a time-bound and independent audit of deletions and modifications made during the SIR.
It has also sought directions to ensure that no elector is removed from the rolls without notice and a reasonable hearing in accordance with the law, and that eligible people in Punjab and other states going to polls are allowed to seek inclusion in the voter lists until the last date permitted by law. The case will now come up before the Supreme Court on October 15.