In its order, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stated that the petition filed on behalf of Raut would be entertained provisionally, subject to him explaining his conduct. Raut is the sixth petitioner in the joint petition filed by 13 INDIA bloc leaders.
“In W.P. (C) No. 1351/2026 (Item 25), the petition on behalf of Petitioner No. 6 is entertained on a provisional basis, subject to his explaining his conduct,” the bench observed in its order.
The development comes a day after Attorney General R Venkataramani granted consent to the Supreme Court Bar Association to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Raut over his comments concerning the judiciary and CJI Surya Kant.
Raut had criticised the CJI for declining a meeting with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who had sought an appointment with the Chief Justice to raise concerns about alleged electoral irregularities and the SIR of electoral rolls.
Raut alleged that the CJI and several judges had played badminton with BJP leaders in London and attended dinner parties with BJP ministers, while the CJI could not meet the Opposition leader.
During Thursday’s hearing, the CJI remarked that one of the petitioners would have to explain his conduct. The Chief Justice also observed that the judges were aware of statements being made outside the courtroom and were not living in “ivory towers”.
While granting consent for criminal contempt proceedings, the Attorney General stated that Raut’s claim about judges playing badminton with ministers was false and cited a Delhi High Court order that established this. The AG further said that Raut’s comments lowered the dignity of the judiciary and were scandalous in nature.
The petition was filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and 11 other INDIA bloc leaders, challenging the Election Commission’s actions in connection with the SIR of electoral rolls.
Apart from Congress leaders Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the petitioners include Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee; Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party; Tejashwi Prasad Yadav of the RJD; Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT); MA Baby of the CPI(M); D Raja of the CPI; Mahua Majhi of the JMM; Supriya Sule of the NCP (Sharad Pawar); and ET Muhammed Basheer of the IUML. Two more Opposition leaders, VCK President Thol. Thirumavalavan and NC MP Sajjat Ahmad Kichloo, later joined the Leader of the Opposition’s petition.
The petition seeks disclosure of the Election Commission’s files, minutes, notings and objections recorded by Election Commissioners in relation to disputed SIR decisions. It also seeks the constitution of an independent audit panel to examine alleged electoral irregularities and ensure transparency in the revision process.
The INDIA bloc leaders have raised concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and the manner in which the SIR exercise was conducted, seeking judicial scrutiny of the poll body’s decisions. The Supreme Court’s direction to Raut to explain his conduct places his remarks under scrutiny alongside the broader legal challenge to the Election Commission’s electoral roll revision process.
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