Night-long drama at Supreme Court over Karnataka power tussle

New Delhi, May 17

The dramatic turn of events through the night over the Karnataka power tussle in the Supreme Court here saw a mad rush of news-hungry scribes during the rare post-midnight hearing which continued till the wee hours of Thursday.

As the speculations about possible court proceedings at night began around 10 pm on Wednesday, mediapersons started pouring in outside the apex court as well as the residence of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

By midnight, a mad rush of scribes was witnessed at Gate E of the apex court which is one of the entry points of the complex that was opened.

A number of police personnel were present to prevent any untoward incident. Barricades were put up at strategic points and onlookers were shooed away by the police.

Scribes were seen trying to reach all their sources to get some information whether a night hearing would take place and, if yes, at what time.

As a number of reporters and photographers waited outside the CJI’s residence, the news came from the apex court that the hearing would start at 1.45 am.

As the news broke, the rush outside CJI’s residence, 5, Krishna Menon Marg, vanished within minutes, with the scribes, photographers and broadcast vans rushing to the top court.

At around 1.40 am, only those scribes having entry cards issued by the Supreme Court were allowed to enter the courtroom number six, where the hearing took place later.

Any lawyer going inside the apex court premises or coming out of it was instantly mobbed by the scribes wanting to know about the latest developments, even though a number of reporters were present in the court room.

As the proceedings in the case progressed inside the court room, a number of supporters of different political parties also gathered to witness the happenings at the Supreme Court and waited peacefully.

The moment senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi arrived at the apex court gates, reporters rushed to get a news byte but the senior counsel, who was to appear for the Congress-JDS combine, refused to make any comment as he walked inside the complex, but soon thereafter he turned back, smiled and waved a victory sign for the benefit of the flashing cameras.

Soon thereafter, a battery of senior law officers, including Attorney General KK Venugopal, Additional Solicitor Generals Maninder Singh and Tushar Mehta and former AG and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, also trooped into the court premises.

As their vehicles made their way into the complex, cameramen and reporters rushed to get a picture or a statement from them. While the photograpers suceeded in clicking pictures, the reporters failed to elicit comment from any of them.

The mediapersons outside the court complex kept themselves busy either by filing the stories or debating the case, its probable outcome and the repercussions.

After the proceedings were over and the streetlights went off, the lawyers started coming out and the scribes again ran to get a news-byte but failed to elicit any response. PTI