In SC/ST case, Supreme Court protects woman journalist who accused ACP of sexual harassment

The Supreme Court is hearing around 32 petitions including by Rahul Gandhi, CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, among others.

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim protection to a woman journalist who was booked in a case under the SC/ST Act on a complaint filed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat, after she had accused the cop of sexually harassing her while she was covering the protests in Delhi.

The Supreme Court also issued notice on the plea filed by the leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA Bloc leaders challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India’s (ECI). The court, while issuing notice, also orally observed, “We will issue notice in this but we would like to ask one of the petitioner about his conduct on the next date of hearing”. The bench, however, did not specify which petitioner it was referring to.

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The court is hearing a batch of petitions alleging illegal detentions, assault on protesters, and contempt plea concerning restrictions on metro and train services, during the protests against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission. The court is also hearing a petition filed by the leader of opposition, Rahul Gandhi, against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Petitions before court: The petitions include a challenge to the closure of metro stations and cancellation of trains to Delhi in view of the protest. It also includes a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against authorities for allegedly violating the October 9 order on the operation of metro and train services in Delhi amid the protest. The pleas allege illegal detentions and assault on protesters, journalists and lawyers. The court will also hear Rahul Gandhi’s plea against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a petition seeking the court’s intervention over the gathering of Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders inside the court premises on October 12.

Previous hearing: The Supreme Court on October 11 had directed the authorities to ensure that there are no illegal detentions, free and smooth movement of people is allowed, Metro and train services function normally, and internet services are not disrupted, subject to law and order conditions. A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana held a special sitting to hear petitions challenging the restrictions put in place, allegedly in contempt of the court’s directions to ensure there is “no complete prohibition on movement of Metro/ trains”, and the detention of protesters including political leaders. Saying that there was a prima facie contempt case, the bench issued notices to the Centre, Delhi Police and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to file affidavits and submit compliance reports.

Live Updates
Oct 15, 2026 01:48 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing ends

Bench rises, hearing concludes for the day.

Oct 15, 2026 01:45 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

CJI: All matters pertaining to protest issue, we are issuing notice. We will ask Union to file a counter.

Oct 15, 2026 01:40 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Senior advocate Hariharan: A lawyer was beaten up at the police station...I want a reply to that...There is a pendrive which portrays the assault.

CJI: We will ask to file a reply.

Oct 15, 2026 01:35 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

CJI: Earnest request to members of bar to not file more petitions...46 petitions have been filed.

Oct 15, 2026 01:20 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

CJI (to SG Mehta): Don't take any coercive action against the woman journalist who alleged sexual harassment against a cop

Oct 15, 2026 01:18 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

CJI: There are four instances in your petition (about allegations of sexual harassment incidents)...

SG Mehta: They are not instances..they are some newspaper reports.

Oct 15, 2026 01:16 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Jaising: I want to draw your attention to a very, very important issue, and that is in the nature of slap suits. I'm representing a woman who was very badly molested. The name of the police officer I will give you. She's been to the police station to lodge an FIR. No FIR lodged. Now, what does this man go do? He's gone to the Delhi High Court, filed a petition under the SC and ST Atrocities Act, saying that she used casteist remarks against me, and that FIR has been entertained. So, My Lord, I am asking for an order, no coercive of action to be taken against any woman journalist who's made a complaint.

Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas appears in person before Court.

Brittas: I'm a layman. I'm not a lawyer, sir. I'm a member of Parliament. I'm glad that the Chief Justice of India converted my letter to a IA...The police pounced on me.

CJI: We have already taken notice of your letter. We have taken cognizance of that on administrative side. It has been registered on judicial side. When we examine the issue, definitely the factual issue which you have also pointed out are bound to be considered. We will consider those also.

Brittas: Thank you.

Jaising: No more FIRs against women journalists, my lord. The long-term issues which will be addressed at the time of hearing of the petition will be the creation of a national protocol as to how to deal with journalists. Even in war zones, in Israel, in Palestine, journalists go and report. Nobody obstructs them. And here, my lord, we are obstructed from reporting at Jantar Mantar. So the right to report is a right which belongs to the press. It belongs to an individual. And my lord, the protocol will also have to say they can't insist that you only get n accreditation from PIB. We get a pass from our employers that this journalist is employed with us, and they have to recognise that journalist as a journalist who has the right to report.

SG Mehta: The difficulty is this. In the present era of digital technology, any person having a mobile is a journalist in his own right.

CJI: Allegations (of sexual harassment) are very serious.

Oct 15, 2026 01:07 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

CJI: We are also prima facie agreeing that the committee in this matter must be predominantly of the women former judges or the former IPS officer or any former social worker.

Oct 15, 2026 01:05 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Senior advocate Indira Jaising seeks the constitution of a committee headed by a woman chairperson to look into complaints of sexual violence against women journalists.

Jaising: Your lordship have already constituted a similar committee in relation to police excesses. Mine is a case where you need a differently enabled committee to look at composition, which enables them to look at each and every complaint by each and every woman journalist who has complained of violence, including sexual violence. Therefore, my Lord, we need to discuss who will be the members of this special committee. I have my suggestions. I'm happy to share them with you. As I said, it will include a woman retired judge. It will include a woman retired IPS officer. We don't want sitting IPS officers. It will include civil society, and it'll have to be headed by a woman.

Oct 15, 2026 01:04 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Senior advocate Indira Jaising: I have some submissions to make. This is a petition which specifically addresses the needs of women journalists during the course of employment. When they go onto a protest site, they constitute a class by themselves because they not only have the right to speech, not only have the right to protest, but also the right to work. They go there to perform their duties in exercise of the right to work. Now, being women, they are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, being pushed and pulled around, especially by male police officers, which is not to say that the women police officers did not push them. They did. That would constitute harassment. But when it happens by a male, it constitutes sexual harassment. Now, Milord, we stand in this class apart, and I am asking for some interim orders. Your Lordship have already set up an inquiry, special inquiry committee. We do not wish to be linked with that inquiry committee because the constitution of our committee has to be different. It has to be in accordance with the Vishakha guidelines as well and therefore, My Lord, our committee has to be headed by a woman chairperson, and we have names which we would like to suggest to you, maybe retired women judges, civil society members, maybe retired police personnel, maybe civil society activists, because Vishakha even has NGOs.

Oct 15, 2026 01:02 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Senior advocate Indira Jaising urges the court to take up petition alleging incidents of sexual harassment faced by women journalists during the course of protests.

CJI: We are coming to it.

Oct 15, 2026 12:58 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Supreme Court issues notice on plea challenging denotification of Jantar Mantar as protest site.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan: Provisions of constitutional law has gone through upheaval in last 15 years.

Oct 15, 2026 12:53 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

CJI (order): All law enforcement agencies are directed to preserve the CCTV footage or any other digital proof or material collected relating to protests, including CCTV footage of the Supreme Court.

Oct 15, 2026 12:52 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia seeks directions for preservation of CCTV footage within the Supreme Court premises.

Bhatia: A lady journalist was pushed. She was expecting. All that I want is as per the prayer the CCTV footage may be preserved till the next date of hearing.

SG Mehta: The commissioner of police has issued a written intimation to every police station to preserve it and send it to the headquarters so that there is separate preservation.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising: It needs to be a judicial order, can't be an oral observation.

Justice Bagchi: We are passing an order.

Oct 15, 2026 12:51 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan: We are just asking for today itself that Jantar Mantar be notified yet again because the de-notification has been done purportedly on your Lordship's directions apparently on 9th October your lordships directed that Jantar Mantar should be de-notified.

SG Mehta: No, it's not.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan: The same prayer is there in multiple petitions.

Justice Bagchi: The de-notification you have challenged we are issuing a notice. Let them come up with a reply and explain whether it because of some oral observations of the court or there was an application of mind with regard to the site.

SG Mehta: Your Lordships judgment is not the basis of the decision. The committee was constituted much before. The committee has given a detailed report.

Oct 15, 2026 12:45 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing underway

Gaurav Bhatia:  It is completely unacceptable that this honorable Supreme Court is sieged with a political procession, your Lordship. And what has happened within the precincts of the Supreme Court, this cannot happen, your Lordship. And I must share the anguish of the lawyers who are practicing in the Supreme Court. 200 of them have signed a memorandum, and they have stated very clearly that this kind of browbeating the judiciary...

CJI: Nobody can browbeat. Don't worry about that.

Bhatia: Your Lordship, it is not... May, I say this? and we have the confidence in the judiciary that nobody can browbeat. But an attempt by any person to browbeat itself is worrisome.

CJI: Mr. Bhatia, these attempts are all fragile attempts. Nobody take notice of it...Outside what the statement they make inside… we are not sitting in ivory tower.  We are also aware of everything.

Bhatia: My petition talks about that the vicinity and the precincts of the Supreme Court have to be protected...There is a separate prayer for criminal contempt itself also. I would urge strongly that notice be issued because such an incident cannot be repeated ever in the Supreme Court.

CJI: No contempt notice today; we are only simply issuing notice in the writ petition. When we see what the response comes, then we'll take it further.

Oct 15, 2026 12:40 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing begins

CJI: There is a challenge to Form 6 and ECI issue so that matter is tagged with the other matters which are already pending.

CJI (order): Issue notice.

Kapil Sibal mentions about Rahul Gandhi's plea against ECI.

CJI: We will issue notice in this but we would like to ask one of the petitioner about his conduct on the next date of hearing and issuing notice does not mean that we are condoning anything.

CJI (Order): The entertainment of the petition on behalf of one of the petitioner is on provisional basis, subject to his explaining the conduct.

Oct 15, 2026 12:34 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing begins

SG Tushar Mehta: I want to say something at the outset. Not on the merits of the matter, my Lords. Your Lordships have issued notice in contempt. We have filed responses in contempt. Your Lordships law is well settled that whenever we file a response in the contempt notices, the first sentence we write is that we hereby tender an unconditional apology, and thereafter we explain how the contempt is not created. But it is with reference to, my Lord, compliance with that law that in every affidavit this is the first, paragraph. But now, my Lord, everything, my Lord, in media and social media, the things are going on that the government has apologized. They have nothing to say.

CJI: We have not read those reports.

SG Mehta: I want to clarify that the government has defended, and the first paragraph is in compliance with what the law is.

CJI: We have not taken cognizance of any such report.

Justice Bagchi: Neither have we taken cognizance of the report, neither are we taking cognizance of the unqualified apology because by your submission it is a qualified apology.

Oct 15, 2026 12:31 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing begins

Hearing begins

Oct 15, 2026 12:30 PM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Hearing shortly

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, N Hariharan, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Menaka Guruswamy, Indira Jaising and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju are in the court. The hearing will begin shortly.

Oct 15, 2026 11:15 AM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Maharashtra SIR

Senior advocate Arvind Datar mentions a petition relating to Maharashtra SIR and deletion of voters, requests court to tag it with item number 25 (Rahul Gandhi v ECI) and hear the matter today.

Court agrees to list the matter on some other date, says that it must be examined state-wise and cannot be generalised.

Oct 15, 2026 11:07 AM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Senior advocates

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Menaka Guruswamy, N Hariharan, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Indira Jaising and advocate Vrinda Grover, among others, are expected to argue on behalf of the petitioners in petitions relating to anti-CEC protests.

Oct 15, 2026 10:50 AM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Bench assembles

The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has assembled. Petitions to be taken up in sometime.

Oct 15, 2026 10:10 AM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Previous hearings

The court had earlier sought the response of Centre, Delhi Police and DMRC chief on contempt pleas filed against them challenging the restrictions put in place during protests, allegedly in contempt of the court’s directions. The bench had granted time till October 15 to file their responses.

On the last day of hearing, the Supreme Court had sought the presence of a senior Delhi Police officer over the allegations that women journalists were sexually harassed by police while covering the protest. This comes after senior advocate Indira Jaising mentioned alleged incidents of sexual harassment faced by women journalists during the course of protests. "It will be listed…We would like some senior officer to remain present," CJI had said.

Oct 15, 2026 09:54 AM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Batch of petitions

The Supreme Court will take up petitions alleging illegal detentions and assaults on protesters, journalists, and lawyers, as well as a contempt plea concerning restrictions on metro and train services, during the protests against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission. It will also hear leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi’s plea against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a petition seeking the court’s intervention over the gathering of Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders inside the court premises on October 12.

Oct 15, 2026 09:48 AM IST
Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: Two-judge bench to hear

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi will hear the matter today.

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