Supreme Court to hear plea alleging Rahul Gandhi pushed a pregnant journalist during 12 October march

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an application alleging that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi pushed a pregnant woman journalist inside the court’s premises during the opposition march on 12 October.

Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia mentioned the application before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. “A lady journalist was pushed by Rahul Gandhi in the Supreme Court precincts,” he said, adding that she had to be taken to hospital. These are allegations made in the application; the court has made no finding.

Bhatia had raised the incident orally on Thursday, while the court was hearing the cases arising from the Delhi protests. The bench declined to act on that. “Not taking suo motu of an oral submission. File petition, will like to examine,” the Chief Justice said then. The application has now been filed in a pending petition by advocate Digant Mishra, who wants the court to bar political demonstrations within its premises.

The bench said it would take up the application on 26 or 27 October.

On Thursday the court had issued notices to Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the Congress party and others on a plea against the 12 October march, when opposition leaders walked to the Supreme Court to file a petition against the Election Commission.

Neither the journalist nor her organisation has been named in court. The Congress has not publicly responded to the allegation.