Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Oct 12
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Monday that protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and restrictions imposed in Delhi were matters of law and order outside his remit.
“This matter doesn’t pertain to my domain,” Kant told reporters on the sidelines of an event marking the 33rd anniversary of the National Human Rights Commission at Vigyan Bhawan.
About the opposition’s march towards the Supreme Court, he declined to comment.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had sought a meeting with the chief justice to submit a memorandum alleging “vote theft” and demanding Kumar’s resignation, a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a return to paper ballots.
Kant said he had replied to their letter, explaining that he would not be able to meet them, but declined to disclose the contents, citing confidentiality.
“Please ask the content of the letter from them,” he said.
He said that the Supreme Court remained accessible to all citizens and would hear issues in accordance with the law.
“Every citizen of India has a right to reach us,” he said.
On the court’s decision not to meet a Joint Parliamentary Committee examining simultaneous elections, Kant said judges had considered the possibility of a conflict of interest if the issue later came before the court.
The remarks came amid heightened security in Delhi following demonstrations against the Election Commission.
Authorities deployed large numbers of security personnel, closed 45 metro stations over the weekend and stepped up checks at the city’s border points, while thousands of protesters were detained, according to the source report.
