The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on an application by a pregnant journalist who alleges that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi pushed her during the Opposition INDIA bloc leaders' march to the apex court premises on October 12 over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, IANS reported. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant clarified that notice had already been issued in the matter and said it would be taken up on November 3.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The applicant, Richa Parashar, a journalist with a news website, has sought impleadment in a case relating to political demonstrations within court premises and directions for registration of an FIR against Gandhi and others, along with compensation, LiveLaw reported. Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia orally mentioned the application before a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, following which the bench ordered notice to the respondents and tagged it with the main case.

Source: LiveLaw

These are allegations in the application, not findings of the court. The application alleges that Gandhi suddenly pushed Parashar towards a gate with such force that she lost her balance and fell, breaking her fall with her hands, despite her pleas, in a crowded place in the presence of security personnel and journalists, LiveLaw reported. It says she was 11 weeks and 3 days pregnant at the time, her phone was shattered in the fall, and she later developed pain in the lower abdomen and was taken to the casualty ward of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, from where she was discharged with medication and advice for further scans.

Source: LiveLaw

Law Trend reported that the bench sought responses from Gandhi and others on the application seeking criminal action over the alleged incident. An earlier bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi had, on October 15, directed the preservation of CCTV footage and all other digital evidence relating to the October 12 incident on and around the court premises, according to the reports.

Source: Law Trend

The Congress has denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated, and party leaders and supporters have circulated videos of the incident questioning whether the footage establishes that Gandhi pushed the journalist, according to earlier IANS reporting carried by news outlets. The matter will now be heard on November 3.