Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Monday declined to disclose the reasons for refusing to meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying he had maintained the confidentiality of their correspondence. He said he had received a letter from Gandhi a day earlier and had responded the same night, explaining why he was unable to attend the proposed meeting. The CJI made the remarks after addressing an event organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on human rights and access to water.

Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, had jointly sought a meeting with the CJI between 4 pm and 5 pm on Monday. They intended to submit a memorandum raising concerns about alleged vote manipulation, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, calling for a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and seeking a return to paper ballots. The request came amid opposition protests against the Election Commission and its handling of electoral processes.

Asked why he had declined the meeting, Justice Surya Kant said he had already communicated his reasons directly to Gandhi. However, he refused to share the details of the exchange with the media, emphasising that the correspondence would remain confidential. He asked reporters to seek the contents of the letter from Gandhi instead of expecting him to disclose the communication. The CJI did not elaborate further on the reasons behind his decision, leaving the specifics of his response undisclosed.

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Addressing questions about how elected representatives and other citizens could raise their concerns before the judiciary, the CJI stressed that the Supreme Court remained accessible to everyone. He said any individual, including an ordinary citizen or a member of an elected body, could approach the court by filing a petition. He added that access to the judiciary was a right available to every Indian citizen, regardless of their position or public standing.

Justice Surya Kant said the court would consider grievances in accordance with the law and provide relief wherever legally justified. He emphasised that citizens could bring their problems before the judiciary through the established legal process. His remarks underlined the distinction between seeking a meeting with the Chief Justice and approaching the Supreme Court through a formal petition, which remains an available route for raising legal grievances.

The CJI declined to comment on the situation in Delhi and the ongoing protests, describing the matter as a law-and-order issue. He also explained why the Supreme Court had decided against a proposed interaction with the parliamentary Joint Committee on One Nation, One Election. Justice Surya Kant said the proposed meeting raised a greater possibility of a conflict of interest in future court proceedings. He added that he and his senior judicial colleagues had collectively agreed, on the administrative side, that avoiding any potential conflict of interest was the appropriate course of action.

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