CJI says judiciary cannot be browbeaten over Opposition's Supreme Court march

The Supreme Court issued notices to Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders over their October 12 march. The Chief Justice asserted that political pressure could not browbeat the judiciary.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Oct 15, 2026 17:00 ISTChief Justice of India Surya Kant on Thursday said nobody could browbeat the judiciary while hearing a plea concerning the October 12 march to the Supreme Court by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition leaders, the Press Trust of India reported.A bench comprising the Chief Justice and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, the Congress, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and others over the march.Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for the petitioners, said the events on the Supreme Court premises on October 12 were completely unacceptable. "It was completely unacceptable that the Supreme Court was seized with a political procession," he told the bench.When Bhatia said such attempts to browbeat the judiciary could not be allowed, the Chief Justice responded, "Nobody can browbeat us." The petition seeks a complete ban on political demonstrations within court premises and contempt proceedings against political leaders who obstruct the judicial system. Gandhi and several other prominent opposition leaders, accompanied by their supporters, reached the Supreme Court on October 12 to file a petition over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.Several protests have been held in the national capital demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision process. During the hearing, Bhatia told the bench that more than 200 lawyers had signed a memorandum expressing concern over the events inside the Supreme Court premises on October 12, PTI reported. He said the alleged attempt to browbeat the judiciary was worrying.The Chief Justice 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 also asked the court to order the preservation of CCTV footage from the Supreme Court premises on October 12. "We (petitioners) have made an interim prayer in the petition to preserve the CCTV footage of the Supreme Court premises," he said.He added that a pregnant woman journalist was pushed on the court premises that day and was admitted to hospital. The bench said it would direct that the CCTV footage be preserved.The plea centres on the entry of a large crowd into the Supreme Court premises during the October 12 march by Gandhi and other opposition leaders, who had gone there to file a petition concerning the revision of electoral rolls.- Ends