India Chief Correspondent Neelabh Bist reports for JURIST from New Delhi on the recent actions of a COVID-impacted Supreme Court of India as it deals with a security breach involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi just as several Indian states prepare to head to the polls.

As of Wednesday, India recorded over 200,000 fresh COVID-19 cases per day with the Supreme Court itself falling victim to the virus, as four Supreme Court justices and more than 150 of its staff have tested positive.

The Supreme Court Bar Association urged lawyers to not enter the high security zone of the Court after such reports. Following the steep surge in COVID cases all across the country, the Supreme Court issued an order on Monday extending the limitation period for filing cases and applications in courts and tribunals to February 28.

The Supreme Court has also been grappling with an interesting legal issue alongside the pandemic situation. Last week, a security lapse took the government by surprise during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state of Punjab. With state elections just around the corner, Modi was on his way to visit the National Martyrs Memorial and address a rally, when a group of protestors gathered on his route and blocked his cavalcade in the middle of a flyover (i.e. an overpass).

A First Information Report (FIR) was promptly filed and an investigation begun. However, the matter reached the Supreme Court due to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by “Lawyers Voice,” an NGO that has raised national security concerns about the event. The petition also raised questions about the role played by the political establishment in Punjab in the security breach.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday established an independent committee headed by retired Justice Indu Malhotra to investigate the situation. The other members of the committee include the Director General of the National Investigation Agency or his nominee not below the rank of Inspector General, the Chandigarh Director General of Police, the Punjab Additional Director General of Police (Security) and the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The independent committee is to determine the cause of the security breach, the persons responsible for that breach and any additional safeguards necessary for the security of the prime minister. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has suspended investigations already launched by Punjab and the central government.

The controversy did not end there and a spicy addition to it came when several lawyers practicing before the Supreme Court received threatening calls from a UK number warning the Court against hearing the PIL. This automated call claimed to be from the general counsel of “Sikhs for Justice” from the UK, and took responsibility for blocking the prime minister’s convoy in Punjab.

It is presently unclear whether the call was a hoax or a real threat. However, it is of significance in light of the upcoming Punjab elections and we have to wait to see what kind of an impact this entire incident will have on the outcome, if any at all.

On the subject of the upcoming assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) sought to conduct COVID-safe elections by enforcing the model code of conduct in addition to announcing the dates of the elections for the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur on Saturday. The ECI has imposed strict COVID-19 protocols to be followed by political parties this time, in an attempt to avoid repeating its mistakes from the 2021 state elections when the deadly second wave hit claiming a large number of lives in the country.

The ECI has also ordered booster doses of the vaccine for all officers on poll duty, deeming them to be frontline workers. Additionally, polling time has been increased by one hour to reduce the foot count at polling booths at any one point of time. With these measures in place, we can only hope that all stays well and India does not face a similar disaster as with the second wave last year.