New Delhi, Oct 15 Nobody can browbeat the judiciary, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Thursday while hearing a plea concerning the October 12 march to the top court by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition leaders.
A bench comprising the CJI and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, the Congress party, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and others on a plea against the march to the top court.
Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for the petitioners, told the bench that what happened on October 12 in the apex court premises was completely unacceptable.
"It was completely unacceptable that the Supreme Court was seized with a political procession," Bhatia told the bench.
When he said this kind of attempt to browbeat the judiciary cannot be allowed, the CJI said, "Nobody can browbeat us."
The plea has sought a complete ban on political demonstrations within the court premises and contempt proceedings against political leaders who obstruct the judicial system.
On October 12, Gandhi and several other prominent opposition leaders, accompanied by their supporters, reached the Supreme Court to file a plea over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The national capital has witnessed several protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR process.
During the hearing, Bhatia told the bench that over 200 lawyers have signed a memorandum expressing concern over what had happened inside the top court premises on October 12.
He said the attempt to browbeat the judiciary was worrisome.
The CJI said any such attempts were feeble.
"We are not sitting in ivory towers. We know what statements they are making outside and what they are saying in court. We know everything," the bench observed.
Bhatia told the bench that the CCTV footage of October 12 of the apex court premises should be directed to be preserved.
"We (petitioners) have made an interim prayer in the petition to preserve the CCTV footage of the Supreme Court premises," he said, adding that a pregnant woman journalist was pushed on that day in the court premises and she was hospitalised.
The bench said it would direct the preservation of the CCTV footage.
The plea flagged that a huge crowd had entered the apex court premises on October 12, when Gandhi and others leaders marched to the top court to file a petition related to the SIR of electoral rolls.
