Supreme Court orders contempt case, directs Sanjay Raut to appear in person on November 17

October 28, 2026

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut to appear in person on November 17 in a criminal contempt case related to alleged remarks against the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

A bench of Justices Arvind Kumar and Vipul M. Pancholi directed the second proposed contemnor in the case, senior journalist Nikhil Wagle, to appear virtually at the next hearing. The bench said that if necessary, he may also be asked to appear in person next week.

SCBA initiated contempt proceedings

The case relates to a criminal contempt petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) against Sanjay Raut and Nikhil Wagle, who are accused of making alleged remarks against Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

During the hearing, the bench was informed that Sanjay Raut had filed his counter-affidavit, but a copy of it was not available in the court records. The Supreme Court directed the Registry to place the affidavit on record and asked Raut to appear in person at the next hearing.

Senior advocate Pradeep Rai, representing the SCBA, argued that Raut had made some comments even after this. He also stated that Nikhil Wagle had removed the controversial social media post after receiving the notice. Rai also referred to Raut’s subsequent social media posts, which included references to the burning of the Supreme Court in Albania and the possibility of a similar situation arising in India.

Nikhil Wagle tenders unconditional apology

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, representing Nikhil Wagle, drew the court’s attention to his detailed affidavit, in which Wagle tendered an unconditional apology for the controversial social media post and requested to be relieved of the show-cause notice.

Jaisingh stated that Wagle deeply regrets his comments and did not intend to justify them. Noting the removal of the post and his expression of regret, the bench allowed him to appear virtually at the next hearing. The court said it would consider his personal appearance later.

Controversy sparked by comments about the CJI and BJP leaders

On October 16, the Supreme Court issued notices to Sanjay Raut and Nikhil Wagle on a criminal contempt petition filed by the SCBA. The court asked both to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. At that time, the court exempted them from personal appearance.

The controversy erupted after Sanjay Raut’s alleged statement during a media interaction on October 12. Raut claimed that he had seen 60 to 70 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, playing badminton with BJP leaders in London.

This comment came after the CJI refused to meet with Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. Both leaders wanted to submit a memorandum regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

The CJI had said that calling such a meeting to discuss pending matters would be contrary to the principle of separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

The SCBA told the court that it regretted initiating contempt proceedings, but ignoring such comments could encourage similar statements against the judiciary.

The next hearing in the case will now be on November 17 at 2 pm.