Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has shut the door on a planned meeting with top opposition leaders, stating bluntly that he did not grant any appointment time to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge or Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. In an exclusive interview with Times Now, the CJI clarified that he sent a formal communication declining their request. This comes as the INDIA bloc leaders prepared to protest at the Supreme Court, raising alarms about alleged electoral fraud linked to the SIR row and voter list deletions.
The refusal rests on a simple legal hurdle: the matters are already sub-judice. When pressed on the 'vote chori' allegations, CJI Kant noted that similar cases are pending on the judicial side of the Supreme Court. "I have declined the meeting and communicated to them," he said, adding that he hopes the leaders will release the official reasons for the denial. The CJI’s stance removes the possibility of an informal dialogue, forcing the opposition to rely on formal legal channels for their grievances.
The conversation also touched on a separate incident involving CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas. Brittas alleged he was manhandled and assaulted by Delhi Police during a protest against Gyanesh Kumar and had written to the CJI seeking intervention. The Chief Justice did not offer a private audience for this either. Instead, he emphasized the rule of law: every citizen, whether a common man or a Rajya Sabha MP, is welcome to file a petition. "We will certainly entertain it," Kant said, steering the issue back to the court's docket rather than a hallway conversation.
The opposition's protest march proceeds today without the CJI’s presence. The INDIA bloc intends to raise the issues of voter deletion and SIR irregularities publicly. With the CJI’s refusal, the legal and political battle over electoral integrity now moves entirely into the courtroom, where the sub-judice cases will determine the outcome.