New.Delhi, 16 October (H.S.): The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition filed by pregnant journalist Richa Parashar, who has alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pushed her during an opposition march on October 12 inside the Supreme Court registry premises.

On Friday, senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing on behalf of the journalist, mentioned the matter before a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India and sought an early hearing. The court subsequently directed that the petition be listed for hearing on October 26.

When Bhatia expressed uncertainty over whether notice had been issued in the matter he had brought before the court on Thursday, the Chief Justice said that notices had been issued in all the cases.

The matter relates to an opposition march held on October 12, when opposition leaders marched towards the Supreme Court after filing a petition challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The march took place amid protests over alleged irregularities in the voter-list revision process, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Parashar alleged that while she was attempting to cover the march, Gandhi grabbed her and pulled her towards him. She further claimed that his security personnel subsequently pushed her, causing her to fall. She was later admitted to a hospital.

The Congress party has denied her allegations.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar