The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has filed a criminal contempt petition before the Supreme Court against journalist Nikhil Wagle and Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut over their remarks concerning Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, after obtaining the consent of Attorney General R. Venkataramani.

The petition, filed under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, alleges that the statements made by them were intended to scandalise the Supreme Court and undermine the authority of the Chief Justice.

The controversy arose after CJI Surya Kant declined to meet Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to raise concerns relating to the ongoing protests in Delhi and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The CJI had indicated that the issues could be brought before the Court through appropriate legal proceedings.

Following the development, Nikhil Wagle posted an abusive remark on his X Account: “**** You CJI.” He subsequently deleted the post and tendered an unconditional apology, describing the remark as an emotional outburst after Supreme Court Advocate-on-Record Amita Sachdeva sent him the legal notice and sought AG’s permission to file a contempt petition.

In his consent letter, the Attorney General stated that the remarks were prima facie scandalous, intended to lower the esteem of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and particularly the Chief Justice of India.

The SCBA has also challenged remarks attributed to Sanjay Raut alleging that judges attend political programmes organised by the ruling BJP and accept dinners hosted by Chief Ministers. He also referred to photographs purportedly showing judges playing badminton with political figures in London.

The association has relied on a June 19 order of the Delhi High Court, which found that the photographs being circulated as images from a London badminton event were actually from an event held at Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi in November 2025. The High Court had directed that the content be taken down.