During the hearing, the CJI indicated, without identifying anyone, that one of the petitioners would be questioned about his conduct at the next hearing.
The bench also responded sharply when some lawyers contended that Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, who marched to the Supreme Court on 12 October, were attempting to pressure the judiciary.
“Nobody can browbeat us,” the CJI said.
He added that the judges were aware of statements made outside court and submissions presented during proceedings.
Raut had reportedly criticised the CJI’s refusal to meet Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge regarding their concerns about the Election Commission.
The court directed the Election Commission, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to respond to the opposition leaders’ petition.
The petitioners have sought an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, supported by technical experts and other eminent citizens, to examine deletions and modifications made during the SIR exercise.
They want the proposed committee to complete an independent audit within a fixed timeframe.
With IANS inputs
