SC urged to initiate suo motu contempt over post targeting CJI

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 A Supreme Court lawyer has approached Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant seeking consideration of suo motu criminal contempt proceedings over a now-deleted social media post by Congress Kerala targeting the CJI and the Opposition's protest march to the apex court.  

In his complaint-cum-representation, advocate Vineet Jindal urged the CJI to examine whether the post and the reported demonstration and slogan-shouting inside the apex court premises raised issues warranting action under the law, particularly in view of concerns over the security and orderly functioning of the Supreme Court.

The Congress Kerala unit had posted on X: “Dear Surya Kant, If law and order is not your domain, resign now. We will find your replacement who can handle it.”

Jindal submitted that the publication should be examined in its complete factual and legal context to determine whether it fell within the bounds of permissible political criticism or warranted consideration under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

He referred to Article 129 of the Constitution, which empowers the Supreme Court to punish for contempt of itself, and sought consideration of suo motu proceedings, if warranted.

The advocate further sought an examination of the reported demonstration during the filing of a petition by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders to ascertain whether any restricted area was entered without authorisation, security instructions were violated, or the functioning of the top court was obstructed.

Jindal urged the preservation and examination of relevant CCTV footage, access-control logs, security deployment records and other evidence before any conclusion is drawn.

Earlier, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) had separately condemned statements calling for the CJI's resignation, cautioning that such remarks risk undermining judicial dignity and interfering with the administration of justice.

The INDIA bloc's march on Monday was held to protest alleged electoral irregularities and the SIR exercise.

A delegation of Opposition leaders subsequently approached the Supreme Court with a joint petition challenging the electoral roll revision process.

Meanwhile, lawyers have approached the Supreme Court in connection with Monday's incident at the apex court registry, when Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, arrived to file a petition challenging the SIR exercise.

When senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia mentioned the matter before the top court on Tuesday, the CJI asked, “Is it in the mentioning list?” After Bhatia replied in the negative, the CJI said, “Just mention tomorrow.”

Delhi Police have also registered four FIRs in connection with the INDIA bloc's protest march, police sources said. The cases were registered at the Tilak Marg, Mandir Marg and Barakhamba police stations for alleged violations of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Two FIRs were registered at Tilak Marg police station and one each at Mandir Marg and Barakhamba police stations. Separately, several protesters, including Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) members Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, were detained at Jantar Mantar during a flash protest.

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