The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear, on November 3, a plea concerning a pregnant woman journalist’s allegation that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi pushed and pulled her during the Opposition INDIA bloc leaders’ march to the apex court premises over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant by senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, who submitted that the application concerning the woman journalist had not yet been listed for hearing.

Responding to Bhatia, the CJI-led Bench clarified that notice had already been issued in the matter and said it would be taken up on November 3.

The journalist, Richa Parashar, who works with a news website, had alleged that Gandhi grabbed her hand and pulled her aggressively while she was covering the Opposition leaders’ march, following which she was pushed by his security personnel and fell to the ground.

She was subsequently hospitalised. Parashar, who is three months pregnant, alleged that the incident took place amid the commotion during the Opposition leaders’ protest on the Supreme Court premises on October 12.

Congress has denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated, while party leaders and supporters have circulated videos of the incident, questioning whether the visuals establish that Gandhi pushed the journalist.

The development comes against the backdrop of a separate plea seeking safeguards against political demonstrations in and around the top court premises following the Opposition march.

On October 15, a Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice on the plea and directed the preservation of CCTV footage and other digital evidence relating to the incident.

The march was undertaken by the INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, after the CJI declined a request from him and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to meet him and submit a memorandum on the SIR exercise.

The CJI had advised the Opposition leaders to approach the Supreme Court through the established legal process, observing that convening a meeting to discuss pending cases would be contrary to the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

A day after Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi reiterated call for ‘Chalo Delhi’ march slated for November 1, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) wrote to him again on Tuesday, pleading that the mega-rally be rescheduled after Diwali festivities.

A copy of the letter has also been sent to Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, urging him to discuss the matter with allies in the INDIA bloc.

Earlier on Monday, Rahul Gandhi took to X and made it clear that he intends to proceed with the rally, which is scheduled to be held at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.

“To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you. The Govt shut the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital. With a stolen vote, nothing is safe – your shop, your savings, your children’s future. Tell Modi to sack accused no. 4, Gyanesh Kumar, and the protests will stop in 30 seconds,” Gandhi said.

According to the CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal, the November 1 rally is right in the middle of the peak Diwali shopping season.

“Following this announcement, traders in the 20 major markets surrounding Ramlila Maidan have expressed deep concern and disappointment, leading to an atmosphere of panic,” the CTI said.

The traders’ body questioned whether the barricades will be set up as early as October 31, whether several routes across the National Capital will be blocked, and whether the shops will be allowed to operate or customers will be able to reach them given the restrictions.

The CTI further stated that if the Congress leaders’ estimate of 10 lakh people, along with 15,000-20,000 vehicles, attending the rally is correct, then where will they be parked?

“There is no authorised parking for even 200 vehicles in the vicinity of Ramlila Maidan. Twenty major wholesale and retail markets surrounding Ramlila Maidan will be directly affected,” it said.

The traders’ body mentioned that Ramlila Maidan is surrounded by some of Delhi’s largest wholesale and retail markets, while listing 21 major markets that would be affected by the mega rally.

The CTI stated that the October 10 Jantar Mantar protest involving only 3,000–4,000 people led to the “sealing off of all of Central Delhi”, resulting in a loss of Rs 3,000 crore for traders.

“A rally of 10 lakh people on November 1 would bring all business activity in Old Delhi to a complete standstill, resulting in a loss of Rs 10,000 crore,” it added.

“In the public and business interest, the rally be rescheduled to after November 10, following the festival of Bhaiya Dooj. If holding the rally on November 1 is unavoidable, it should be moved from Ramlila Maidan to an open space, such as the Burari Grounds or Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium—where it would not impact the markets,” the CTI stated.

Meanwhile, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said that Gandhi’s X post would not satisfy the traders.

Speaking to media, Khandelwal said, “Rahul Gandhi tweeted yesterday about Delhi’s traders, apparently believing that his tweet-based politics would satisfy them. The question is, when he said in his tweet that the metro was shut down and roads were blocked, why was the administration compelled to take these steps in the first place?”

Telangana BJP President, Ramchander Rao, on Tuesday criticised Congress leaders, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for demanding a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls over allegations of alleged irregularities, calling the demand baseless and accusing the Opposition of misleading people with allegations of vote theft.

Speaking to media, Rao said the SIR process had progressed significantly and questioned the Congress’ demand to stop it without presenting evidence of alleged voter deletions.

“Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, have time and again been asking for the SIR process to be stalled. In fact, the first phase of the SIR is over now. The second phase of the SIR for the remaining voters has been completed,” he said.

He added that Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were among the states where the second phase of the exercise had been completed, claiming that the overall process was now almost complete.

“How can it be stopped without any proof? Kharge or Rahul Gandhi, it is their demand to stop the SIR without any basis,” Rao claimed.

The BJP leader alleged that the Congress had failed to substantiate its claims that legitimate voters had been removed from electoral rolls. He claimed that neither the party’s leaders nor the individuals allegedly affected had provided evidence to establish where or how valid votes were deleted.

“They don’t have any basis for voter deletion. They make such demands to confuse the people of the country. Their claims of vote theft are an insult to the people’s mandate,” he said.

Rao also questioned the grounds on which the Congress was protesting, asking why the party had not presented specific evidence to support its allegations.

The BJP leader further defended Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), claiming that Opposition parties had accepted electoral outcomes in states where they had won using the same voting system.

“The EVMs they are raising questions about are the same ones through which they won in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala,” he said.

Reiterating the BJP’s stance on the matter, Rao alleged that the Opposition questioned the credibility of EVMs and the Election Commission of India (ECI) primarily when the BJP emerged victorious in elections.

He maintained that the allegations against the electoral process were false and reiterated that the Congress should provide evidence to support its claims rather than demand that the SIR exercise be stopped.