CJI Surya Kant declines INDIA bloc meeting, advises leaders to file petition

• CJI Surya Kant has reportedly declined an INDIA bloc meeting request, advising Opposition leaders to submit a petition

• Sources said the proposed discussion concerned issues already being heard by the Supreme Court

• The Opposition’s planned march centres on demands to halt the electoral roll revision and remove chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has declined a request to meet leaders of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, advising them to raise their concerns through a petition before the Supreme Court, according to sources.

The response came ahead of the Opposition’s proposed march to the court on Monday, part of its campaign against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Sources said the CJI conveyed that the matters the delegation wished to discuss were already before the Supreme Court. He reportedly explained that a meeting with a political delegation at the administrative level would therefore be inappropriate, and that the judiciary’s responsibility was to consider petitions and deliver judgments.

The CJI also reaffirmed the court’s accessibility to citizens and its commitment to safeguarding fundamental rights, the sources said.

Despite the meeting request being declined, the INDIA bloc’s march is expected to proceed. Opposition parties have demanded the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and accused the Election Commission of allowing the electoral revision exercise to disenfranchise voters.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has described the proposed march as a mobilisation of citizens rather than an event belonging to any political party. He has also alleged that the Narendra Modi government benefited from the SIR exercise.

The planned demonstration follows the submission of a charter of demands to President Droupadi Murmu on Friday. The Opposition sought Kumar’s resignation, repeal of the 2023 law providing legal protection to the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, an immediate halt to the SIR exercise, and restoration of 13.3 crore voters it claims were removed from electoral rolls.

On Sunday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the legal protection available to Election Commission members under the 2023 legislation. He alleged that the government had introduced the provision to shield them from legal action.

The SIR exercise remains a central point of dispute between the Opposition and the Election Commission, with INDIA bloc leaders pressing for accountability over alleged voter deletions.

With IANS inputs