Gopal Sankaranarayanan quits seven Delhi protest matters in Supreme Court after repeated interruptions at 15 October hearing
The senior advocate pulled out of seven cases after other counsel repeatedly cut him off while CJI Surya Kant's bench took up about 46 protest-linked petitions on 15 October.
Seven Delhi protest matters pending in the Supreme Court will no longer have Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appearing in them. He stepped away following Thursday’s hearing on 15 October, during which he faced repeated interruptions, Bar and Bench and The Wire reported, and he has told his clients he will not represent them any longer.
Sankaranarayanan told Bar and Bench in a statement: “The bench failed to control the court. I cannot continue like this. Dignity of the court is more important.”
Inside the courtroom
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi were taking up about 46 petitions, Bar and Bench reported. These deal with allegations of police brutality and unlawful detentions, curbs on public movement, the rights of journalists, and the withdrawal of Jantar Mantar’s status as a designated protest site.
Though he had arrived fully prepared, Sankaranarayanan was unable to finish his arguments as other counsel kept interrupting, Bar and Bench said, citing sources. The reports say he left the courtroom before the hearing ended.
According to Bar and Bench, he was also troubled by the disorder in court, such as cases being called out of serial order. The Wire stated that its report carried no comment from the bench, Delhi Police or the other lawyers involved.
Orders passed on 15 October
Bar and Bench and The Wire reported that the bench, during the same hearing, ordered the following:
- Notice to Delhi Police and the Centre in a number of the petitions
- CCTV recordings and other digital evidence to be preserved by police
- Nodal counsel named for each side
- Petitions that overlap to be grouped by 28 October under broad heads
- The main set of protest petitions to come up on 3 November
How the cases arose
The petitions stem from youth-led protests held in Delhi over recent weeks. Among the protesters’ demands is that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. ANI reported that on 12 October, when Sankaranarayanan mentioned a plea alleging that protesters and lawyers had been attacked, a bench headed by CJI Surya Kant observed that the court would not be turned into a political arena, and then agreed to list it.
Sources: Bar and Bench, The Wire, ANI
Related
Delhi High Court asks Kriti Sanon’s counsel for judgments on personality rights, next hearing on 29 October
