This note is NP NOW. The stamp is verified. It was checked at 8:55 am IST on 12 October 2026 and posted at the same time. It records one decision: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined a meeting, and the route he pointed to is the court.

Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had asked for the meeting. They wanted to raise SIR and the CEC. The screen names those two subjects. The caption names the same two leaders and the same two subjects.

The Hindu's article was updated at 7:55 am IST. In that updated text, the CJI's office confirmed that the request was "declined with reasons". The same check records that an earlier version of The Hindu quoted the Chief Justice himself: "Yes, I have declined with reasons." That quotation is from the earlier version. It is not printed on the screen. This note keeps the two apart. The current Hindu account, as re-read for this post, is the office confirming a decline with reasons. The first-person sentence belongs to the earlier version.

The reasons in the reports are attributed to the CJI's office and to sources, not set out here as this desk's own finding. The Times of India, citing CJI-office sources about a CJI email, says similar issues are already pending, that a meeting would "contravene" the separation of power, and that the Supreme Court has no administrative power in the matter, only an adjudicatory power. The same account says a petition can be filed and that a priority hearing is available. Hindustan Times reports the decline and connects it to that pendency and to the adjudicatory role. Bar & Bench reports that the matter is sub judice, that there is no administrative power for this request, and that the leaders are free to approach the court on its judicial side.

What happens next is a petition, on the screen's last card. Bar & Bench says similar matters are listed for Tuesday, 13 October, and that a petition could be heard with them. LiveLaw, Deccan Herald with PTI, and WION also place that hearing on Tuesday. Deccan Herald and WION are named in the check and are not separate links below. The Hindu's updated article says connected petitions are listed for 12 October. The screen follows the Tuesday date, which is the account in Bar & Bench, LiveLaw and Deccan Herald with PTI.

The links under this article are The Hindu, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Bar & Bench and LiveLaw.

The cover is an NP typographic graphic. No photograph is used.

Key facts

  1. Checked and posted at 8:55 am IST on 12 October 2026. CJI Surya Kant declined a meeting request from Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. They wanted to raise SIR and the CEC.
  2. The Hindu, updated at 7:55 am IST, says the CJI's office confirmed the request was "declined with reasons". An earlier version of that article quoted the CJI: "Yes, I have declined with reasons." That sentence is the earlier version. It is not on the screen.
  3. The Times of India, citing CJI-office sources on a CJI email: similar issues are pending; a meeting would "contravene" the separation of power; the Supreme Court has no administrative power here, only an adjudicatory one; a petition can be filed, with a priority hearing.
  4. Hindustan Times reports the decline, and ties it to pendency and the adjudicatory role. Bar & Bench: the matter is sub judice, the court has no administrative power for this, and the leaders are free to approach the judicial side.
  5. Bar & Bench says similar matters are listed on Tuesday, 13 October, and a petition could be heard with them. LiveLaw, Deccan Herald with PTI, and WION also put the hearing on Tuesday. The Hindu's updated article says connected petitions are listed for 12 October. The screen follows Tuesday.

What each side says

What was declined

A meeting. Kharge and Rahul Gandhi wanted to raise SIR and the CEC. The Chief Justice declined that meeting.

Reasons, as the office and the reports give them

Similar cases are already in court. The court is described as having an adjudicatory role here, not an administrative one. A meeting would contravene the separation of powers. The route named is a petition.

Not confirmed

  • The listing date in one figure. The updated Hindu article says 12 October. Bar & Bench, LiveLaw and Deccan Herald with PTI say Tuesday, 13 October. The screen uses Tuesday.
  • A public statement. The reasons are attributed to the CJI's office and to sources describing a CJI email. The direct sentence "Yes, I have declined with reasons" is the earlier Hindu version.

Sources

  1. The Hindu — CJI Surya Kant declines to meet INDIA bloc leaders, with reasons https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cji-surya-kant-declines-to-meet-india-bloc-leaders-on-october-12-with-reasons/article71572588.ece
  2. The Times of India — CJI-office sources: a meeting would contravene the separation of power https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cji-no-meet-with-congress-itll-violate-separation-of-power/articleshow/134879703.cms
  3. Hindustan Times — CJI Surya Kant declines the INDIA bloc request for a meeting on SIR and the CEC https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cji-surya-kant-declines-india-bloc-request-for-meet-over-sir-cec-gyanesh-kumar-oppn-march-in-delhi-october-11-101791739169265.html
  4. Bar & Bench — CJI Surya Kant declines a meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Kharge; the judicial route remains open https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/cji-surya-kant-declines-meeting-with-rahul-gandhi-mallikarjuna-kharge-says-approach-court-judicially
  5. LiveLaw — CJI Surya Kant declines the request for a meeting on SIR and the CEC https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/cji-surya-kant-declines-lop-rahul-gandhis-request-for-meeting-over-sir-cec-554155

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