New Delhi, Oct 13: The Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated that it would take up on Thursday, October 15, a batch of petitions concerning protests in Delhi against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and police action against protesters, lawyers and journalists.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana is hearing the matters, which raise concerns over restrictions on public transport and movement, alleged illegal detentions and claims that police personnel violated the court’s directions.
The protests followed a report by The Indian Express alleging that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had taken several decisions relating to the SIR exercise unilaterally, despite objections from two other Election Commissioners.
Several protesters were detained by Delhi Police over the weekend as authorities sought to control the demonstrations. The detentions triggered multiple petitions before the Supreme Court, including allegations that lawyers and journalists were also detained and prevented from performing their professional duties.
On October 11, the Supreme Court held a special sitting to consider some of these issues and directed the police not to detain peaceful protesters, lawyers and journalists. However, subsequent petitions alleged that detentions and obstruction of professional duties continued despite the court’s directions.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and other petitioners have also approached the court over the alleged detention and assault of lawyers during the protests.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders filed a separate petition on Monday challenging the SIR exercise and alleging large-scale deletion of voters’ names. The petition seeks, among other reliefs, an independent audit of voter deletions and disclosure of records relating to the Election Commission’s decisions. This plea was not listed for hearing on Tuesday.
Several members of the Supreme Court Bar were also expected to mention related matters before the CJI-led Bench, including the entry of Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders into the Supreme Court premises on Monday amid a gathering of lawyers and supporters.
The Bench indicated that the connected petitions concerning alleged non-compliance with its October 11 directions, police action against lawyers and journalists, and possible contempt proceedings could be taken up together on Thursday. The court also asked petitioners to rectify filing defects to facilitate the listing of their matters.
