CJI Surya Kant declines meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge over election claims

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has declined a request from opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for a formal meeting on Monday, 12 October, to discuss alleged electoral irregularities.

Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Kharge, the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, had written to the Chief Justice seeking an appointment between 4 pm and 5 pm. The CJI informed them by email that he could not grant the meeting, stating that the issues raised were already sub judice before the Supreme Court and therefore inappropriate for an administrative discussion.

"Yes, I have declined with reasons," Justice Kant said when asked about the decision.

Why the opposition sought the meeting

The INDIA bloc leaders intended to submit a memorandum calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and the return to paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines.

Speaking in Bengaluru earlier on Sunday, Kharge said the opposition planned to place their concerns before the Chief Justice "with folded hands", pointing to police crackdowns on student protesters in Delhi and alleging widespread manipulation of the voting system. Gandhi posted on X that he would press for an end to what the opposition terms "vote chori", alongside demands to restore 13.30 crore voter names that the alliance claims were wrongly removed from electoral rolls.

Planned march to the Supreme Court

The refusal comes as opposition parties and allied civil society groups prepare to stage a demonstration dubbed "Chalo Delhi - March for Democracy". Protesters are scheduled to gather at 1.30 pm at the Connaught Place-Barakhamba Road junction on Monday before marching towards the Supreme Court.

The outreach to the judiciary followed a meeting on Friday between INDIA bloc leaders and President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the alliance submitted a four-point memorandum. The petition demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, the suspension of the SIR process, paper ballots, and the nullification of assembly elections conducted over the past two years.

After that meeting, Gandhi claimed the President had asked the opposition to provide evidence of vote tampering, writing on X that they would bring her "a mountain of it".

Ruling party response

The governing Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed the opposition's claims and condemned their public statements following the meeting with the President.

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Gandhi of distorting his exchange with President Murmu and attempting to draw the presidency into partisan street politics, arguing that accepting a memorandum did not signify agreement with its claims. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad added that democratic decisions belong in Parliament and through established legal processes, arguing that the opposition was turning to street agitation after facing repeated electoral defeats.