Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has said that no one can intimidate the judiciary. The Supreme Court heard a petition filed by Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi seeking the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). During the hearing, the fact that Gandhi had marched on foot to file the petition also came up for discussion.
Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia objected to the march to the Supreme Court premises, strongly opposing the holding of a political procession there. He termed it unacceptable and described it as an attempt to intimidate and pressure the judiciary. Responding, the CJI remarked, “We are not beyond the real world. We know everything. Nobody can intimidate the judiciary.”
The Chief Justice added that such attempts were very weak and that nobody would pay heed to them, stating that the court was not sitting detached from the real world and was aware of everything.
On the issue of Jantar Mantar, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said it had not been removed from the list of protest sites on the Supreme Court’s direction, adding that a committee had made the suggestion. The court issued notice on a petition challenging the Delhi Police order removing Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites. The Supreme Court said it would first hear the government’s response and, if not satisfied, would take action in accordance with law.