On Wednesday, the Supreme Court directed Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut to appear in person before the court on November 17. The matter pertains to contempt proceedings initiated over remarks made regarding the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the judiciary.
A bench comprising Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi has also directed journalist Nikhil Wagle to appear before the court virtually on the same day.
Court had issued a ‘show-cause’ notice.
On October 16, the apex court issued ‘show-cause’ notices to Sanjay Raut and Nikhil Wagle in this matter. At that time, the court exempted them from personal appearance for the subsequent hearing, stating that it would first consider their explanations. These ‘show-cause’ notices were issued following a contempt petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).
Opposition parties had marched towards the Supreme Court.
Notably, Sanjay Raut recently participated in a march towards the Supreme Court alongside members of various opposition parties. Members of these opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Chief Justice Surya Kant made sharp remarks regarding this march, stating that no one can intimidate or threaten the court. In this context, 12 opposition leaders, including Sanjay Raut and Rahul Gandhi, have jointly filed a petition in the Supreme Court. Following a newspaper report, opposition parties and members of the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ (CJP) took to the streets to protest. The report alleged that decisions within the Election Commission were not being reached through consensus. Consequently, the opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. To register their protest, the CJP had announced a demonstration at Jantar Mantar; however, the government subsequently removed Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites.
