Surya Kant declines meeting with INDIA bloc leaders

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said Monday that he had declined a request from INDIA bloc leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to meet him, while emphasizing that citizens and elected representatives can bring grievances before the Supreme Court through legal proceedings. Surya Kant told reporters he received the leaders’ letter on Sunday, October 11, and replied that night. He said he had given reasons for declining but would keep the correspondence confidential. He did not publicly disclose the specific grounds for his decision. Gandhi and Kharge had requested an appointment between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday, October 12, to present a memorandum. Their proposed demands included ending the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and returning to paper ballots. The leaders have alleged irregularities in the electoral process; those claims have not been established by the information available in the reports. The INDIA bloc had planned to march to the Supreme Court on Monday after the meeting request was declined.