NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on October 16, agreed to hear an application alleging that Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi manhandled a pregnant woman journalist during the October 12 march by Congress and other Opposition leaders to the apex court.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi agreed to list the application on October 26, when the Court reopens after the Dussehra recess.
Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia mentioned the application before the Bench. It has been moved in connection with a pending petition filed by Advocate Digant Mishra, seeking restrictions on political demonstrations within court premises.
The journalist, identified as Richa Parashar, has alleged that Rahul Gandhi grabbed and pulled her while she was covering the Opposition’s march. According to her account, she was subsequently pushed by his security personnel, causing her to fall. She was reportedly hospitalised following the incident. The Congress has denied the allegation.
The matter was first brought to the Court’s attention on October 15, when Bhatia referred to the alleged incident during the hearing of petitions arising from the protests in Delhi.
He informed the Bench that the journalist was three months pregnant and urged the Court to take cognisance of the incident, citing a news report.
The Chief Justice, however, declined to act on an oral submission and asked that a formal application be filed if the allegation was to be examined.
Following this, Bhatia approached the Bench again on today and informed it that the application had been filed. He also sought clarification regarding the issuance of notices in the connected proceedings.
The Chief Justice clarified, “Notice has been issued in all matters.”
The alleged incident occurred on October 12, when Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders marched towards the Supreme Court to submit a petition challenging the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The march subsequently became the subject of separate proceedings before the Supreme Court, with petitioners questioning the conduct of political demonstrations in the vicinity of judicial institutions.
The petition filed by Advocate Digant Mishra and others seeks a regulatory framework for political protests near the Supreme Court and High Courts. It also seeks preservation of CCTV footage, access records and security reports relating to the October 12 events.
The petitioners have further sought consideration of criminal contempt proceedings against political leaders if their conduct is found to have interfered with the administration of justice.
During October 15’s proceedings, the Supreme Court had also directed the preservation of relevant footage and digital records concerning the march.
With the latest application now listed for October 26, the allegation concerning the pregnant journalist will come before the Court for hearing.
