Delhi Confidential: On steady rise in mentions before Supreme Court, CJI Chandrachud says…

For the second time this month, the bench presided by the CJI had 105 matters listed for mention before it on Tuesday. A similar number was also listed on December 9.

Justice D Y Chandrachud

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The Supreme Court has seen a steady rise in the number of mentionings — when lawyers place their request for urgent hearing on some matter — before the Chief Justice of India, more so after Justice D Y Chandrachud took over as CJI. For the second time this month, the bench presided by the CJI had 105 matters listed for mention before it on Tuesday. A similar number was also listed on December 9.

The CJI, who rarely loses his cool, told the crowded courtroom, beaming, “Today, again, we have 105 mentions. As Chief Justice of India, I can only thank you for reposing your faith in us by coming in such large numbers.”

Steer clear: A statement by B Y Vijayendra, Karnataka BJP vice-president and son of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, has become a talking point among BJP MPs from the state. Vijayendra has said that he will contest the upcoming Assembly polls from any seat suggested by the party leadership, including Varuna in Mysuru, where he may have to contest against former CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah. Party MPs say Vijayendra, considered Yediyurappa’s successor in the family, has tried to kill two birds with one stone. He not only expressed his willingness to take on difficult challenges and pitch himself against the Congress’s possible CM candidate, but also deftly kept out the CM from his electoral leadership calculations.

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Some party MPs are amused at Vijayendra’s remarks that the party will “face Assembly polls under PM Narendra Modi and the guidance of (BJP) national president J P Nadda”, steering clear of mentioning Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Talk over walk: That the BJP unit in West Bengal is a house divided has been a matter of constant concern for the party’s central leadership. A fresh exchange of taunts between Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, and former state unit chief Dilip Ghosh has again brought the issue to the fore.

Addressing a public meeting on Monday, Adhikari had said that he doesn’t believe in issuing media statements even during morning walks, in what was an apparent dig at Ghosh. On Tuesday, Ghosh, now the party’s national vice-president, shot back, saying he feels happy to have inspired people to start morning walks. “It also keeps a person fit,” he added.