SC advances to Feb 7 hearing on plea against appointment of L C V Gowri as Madras HC judge
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday reconsidered a plea for urgent hearing of a petition challenging the appointment of lawyer Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as a judge of the Madras High Court, and advanced the date of hearing to February 7 from February 10.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala took note of fresh mentioning of the case by senior advocate Raju Ramachandran who drew the court's attention to the Centre's notification appointing Gowri as an additional judge.
"Since we have taken cognisance of the development, we can list it tomorrow morning. We can constitute a bench," the CJI-led bench said when the plea was re-mentioned.
Earlier in the day, the top court had agreed to hear on February 10 the plea challenging the appointment of Gowri.
After the case was first mentioned in the forenoon proceeding, the Centre's notification appointing a total of 11 advocates and two judicial officers as additional judges in the high courts of Allahabad, Karnataka and Madras came in public domain.
One of those appointed to the Madras High Court is advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri, whose reported affiliation to the BJP had triggered a controversy.
The proposal to elevate the woman lawyer, who has been representing the Centre before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, later reportedly became controversial after reports emerged about her alleged affiliation to the BJP.
Some purported statements of the lawyer, allegedly against Muslims and Christians, have surfaced in public domain.
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Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee holds roadshow in south Kolkata to end campaign
Kolkata (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee undertook a roadshow in south Kolkata spanning over six kilometres on Monday afternoon at the fag end of campaigning for the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly election.
The TMC chief was accompanied by party Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose and candidates Aroop Biswas and Debasish Kumar from Tollygunge and Rashbehari, respectively.
People waiting on the roadside and on rooftops and balconies waved at Banerjee as she greeted them with folded hands, walking briskly, as her party compatriots had a tough time keeping pace with her.
The chief minister is contesting from the Bhabanipur assembly seat, where she is pitted against her bete noire, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, who defeated her in the 2021 elections in Nandigram.
Banerjee was subsequently elected from Bhabanipur in a byelection.
The roadshow started at Sukanta Setu in the Jadavpur area and culminated at Gopalnagar crossing, past her Kalighat residence, with two small stopovers in between.
TMC flags, festoons, cutouts of Banerjee and banners with slogans in favour of the candidates adorned the roadsides through which the road show passed and culminated at around 5.30 pm.
A large number of TMC supporters participated in the roadshow that Banerjee conducted to end her campaign for the 2026 assembly election in West Bengal.
