The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut to explain his remarks criticising the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for refusing to meet Opposition leaders.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Raut is also a petitioner in the case.
The Court said it was allowing him to participate in the proceedings only on a provisional basis till he explains his conduct.
"In W.P. (C) No. 1351/2026 (Item 25), the petition on behalf of Petitioner No. 6 is entertained on a provisional basis, subject to his explaining his conduct,” the bench said.
Raut had criticised the CJI's refusal to meet Gandhi and other Opposition leaders over issues concerning the functioning of the ECI. He had claimed that 80 Supreme Court and High Court judges were seen playing badminton with political leaders in London.
“You can meet them, play with them, have dinner or lunch with them, with Chief Ministers. You can suddenly resign to join a political party. You don’t care for principles and law then but when we want to meet you to save democracy…you say we will not meet political leaders,” Raut had said.
In another interaction with the media, Raut had said that judges freely attend political programs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and that its Chief Ministers organize dinners to welcome them.
Pertinently, Attorney General R Venkataramani has granted consent for initiating criminal contempt proceedings against Raut and journalist Nikhil Wagle over their remarks concerning the CJI and the judiciary.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), which had sought the Attorney General's consent to initiate contempt proceedings, clarified in its petition that photographs presented as being from a badminton event in London were actually from an event held at Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi in November 2025.
[Read Order]