Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Friday rejected media reports claiming that he had refused to list a plea challenging the police action against student protesters, calling them “completely
false.”
Clarifying the matter in open court, the CJI said no writ petition on the issue had been filed before the Supreme Court. He explained that the only document placed before him was a letter representation submitted by a lawyer, not a formally instituted petition.
The CJI said a representation could not be treated as a writ petition unless it had been properly filed before the Court. Expressing concern over the coverage of the issue, he described the reporting as “irresponsible and reckless.”
“In the last two days, a completely false statement was made that a matter was filed, and the media is absolutely free from all responsibility, falsely reporting that the Chief Justice refused to list the matter. Till 10 AM this morning, not a single page has been filed. It was one representation… sent by that Mishra or someone. How can I treat the representation as a writ petition? And people start recklessly reporting this,” the CJI remarked.
This comes after Advocate Narendra Mishra had orally mentioned his letter petition addressed to the CJI concerning the police action on student protests. Refusing to entertain the matter, the CJI told him “Don’t waste our time, don’t waste your time.”
When the lawyer said that he has videos showing the police action, the CJI replied, “We are not interested in videos; we don’t have time to watch.”
The protests were triggered by allegations of irregularities in the examination and recruitment systems, with students demanding greater accountability and reforms in the education sector. Protesters are also seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak row.
The agitation escalated after Delhi Police stopped the Opposition-backed ‘Sansad Chalo’ march, resulting in clashes, injuries, detentions and multiple FIRs.
