SC to give verdicts on Sabarimala, Rafale, Rahul contempt case today

It will be a busy day at the Supreme Court on Thursday as different Supreme Court benches are expected to deliver verdicts in three high-profile cases. These cases are review petitions against its September 2018 verdict on entry of women into the Sabarimala temple, review pleas on its order junking calls for a probe of the Rafale deal and a contempt of court plea against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is on both benches and the verdicts were expected before he retires from the Supreme Court on November 17.

Sabarimala

The ruling on pleas against the Supreme Court order permitting entry to women of all age groups to the Sabarimala temple is expected to be the first and could be delivered around 10.30am. The pleas were heard by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and consisting of Justices R.F. Nariman, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra. The Supreme Court had heard 65 petitions on the Sabarimala ruling and reserved its decision on February 6.

Rahul Gandhi contempt case

The contempt of court case against Rahul Gandhi was filed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi for allegedly wrongly attributing to the Supreme Court his chowkidar chor hai remark in the Rafale deal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi had made the remarks on April 10, the day the apex court had dismissed the Centre's preliminary objections over admissibility of certain documents for supporting the review petitions against the December 14, 2018, verdict in the Rafale case. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph had heard the case and had reserved its order on May 10 this year.

Rafale review

The Supreme Court had in December last year rejected petitions seeking a probe into the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, giving a clean chit to the Modi government over alleged irregularities in the deal. A bench comprising Gogoi, S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph is expected to rule on three review petitions that are seeking a re-examination of its findings that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.