All matters pertaining to alleged discrepancies in the voters’ list and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) are before the top court and should be pursued through judicial proceedings, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant told Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as he declined a request for a meeting amid nationwide protests.
In a letter to the Congress leaders on Sunday, CJI Kant said “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 said the court remains committed to protecting the fundamental rights of every citizen and the people are entitled to seek enforcement of those rights through procedure established by law.
“It would thus be more appropriate on your part to invoke the judicial powers of the Supreme Court of India, instead of submitting a memorandum on the administrative side,” CJI Kant wrote.
He also said matters pertaining to similar issues were scheduled for hearing on Tuesday and the leaders could file a petition on Monday, either physically at the Supreme Court between 10.30am and 4.30pm or through its e-filing facility.
“You have my assurance that any such petition shall be heard at the earliest possible opportunity, in accordance with the law,” he added.
The top court is already hearing petitions pertaining to the SIR process.
The Congress has been seeking Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls. Party leaders had sought an appointment with the CJI between 4pm and 5pm on Monday to submit a memorandum concerning the functioning of the Election Commission. They also sought to discuss the alleged arbitrary arrest of students, the closure of metro stations and the cancellation of trains as part of Delhi Police’s measures to prevent planned protests against the CEC.
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Rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said a proper procedure has to be followed to meet the CJI. “All that the Congress is doing is drama,” he said.
There was no immediate reaction from the Congress at the time of filing this report but Gandhi, earlier in the day, said INDIA bloc leaders will march to the Supreme Court on Monday and file a petition against the poll panel chief and 'vote chori'.
Addressing a press conference at the Indira Bhawan headquarters of the Congress, he also asked the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to turn approver and resign as the Opposition's fight was against the bigger powers that were behind him.