Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has declined Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge's request for a meeting. He said the issues are already before the Supreme Court and must be pursued through a petition.
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Newdelhi,Oct 12, 2026 15:00 IST
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has declined a request from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for a meeting, saying the issues raised by them are already pending before the Supreme Court. In a letter shared by the Congress on Monday, he said holding such a discussion would be inconsistent with judicial ethics and propriety.
The CJI told the two leaders that the appropriate course would be to approach the court through a petition, either physically or online, instead of submitting a memorandum on the administrative side. He said the Supreme Court would consider such issues in the exercise of its judicial powers.
In his response, the CJI said, "At the very outset, it may be noted that the issues referred to hereinabove are already sub judice before the Supreme Court of India." He added, "Therefore, convening a meeting to discuss pending cases would wholly contravene the principle of Separation of Powers, an intrinsic facet of the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution of India, and would be incompatible with the established ethics and judicial propriety."
He also said, "In this vein, I also wish to remind you that within our constitutional framework, the Supreme Court of India is not endowed with any administrative powers to deal with the issues highlighted in your letter." At the same time, he said, "However, in the exercise of our jurisdiction under Article 32 of our Constitution, along with other plenary powers, including that of judicial review, we are duty-bound to consider on judicial side the gravamen of issues affecting the citizens of India." He said the Supreme Court remained committed to protecting the fundamental rights of every citizen and that such rights could be enforced at all hours through the procedure known in law.
Kharge and Gandhi had written to the CJI on October 10 seeking a meeting on October 12 between 4 pm and 5 pm to submit a memorandum on issues concerning the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission of India, the "arbitrary arrest" of several students, the closure of metro stations and the cancellation of trains, among other matters. The CJI said it would be more appropriate for them to invoke the court's judicial powers. Opposition leaders were also set to march to the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon to file a petition against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and over allegations of "vote chori".
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