Although SC declined to entertain a request for a probe into a 2008 pact between the Congress and the Communist Party of China. The top court asked the petitioner to approach the high court with his request.

“We find that there is something which appears to be, what might be called, unheard of and absurd in law. You are saying that China has entered into an agreement with a political party and not the government. How can a political party enter into an agreement with China,” observed Chief Justice SA Bobde during the hearing.

The petitioner’s lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani argued that the agreement needs to be brought in public domain because there were “sinister motives” and the issue involved national security. However, he withdrew the case when the Supreme Court asked why he did not go to the high court.

The petitioners Shashank Shekhar Jha and journalist Savio Rodrigues wanted a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the agreement.

The case filed against the Congress party and its leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi also wanted the court to direct the details of the agreement to be made public.

“Every relief which you are seeking, can be granted by the high court. Secondly, high court is a proper court. Thirdly, we will have the advantage of high court order also,” said the Supreme Court bench which also included Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

In the past, the 2008 pact between the Congress and China’s ruling Communist Party has been used by the BJP to deflect the opposition’s questions about the India-China faceoff in June that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

On Friday, BJP chief JP Nadda seized the court’s observations to attack the Congress.

The 2008 Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the then ruling Congress and the Communist Party of China to for a mechanism that would help regular high-level exchanges between them. The deal was signed during party chief Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Beijing with her family for the Olympics inaugural ceremony.

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BJP working president Jagat Prakash Nadda, on Monday officially took over the reins of the BJP from Amit Shah.

Top party leaders, including Union ministers and those from states, were present at the BJP headquarters to file nominations in support of Nadda.

Senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is in charge of the organisational election process, had announced the schedule after the party’s internal poll exercise was completed in 21 of the BJP’s 36 state and Union territory units.

Singh, in a statement, had said: “After successfully conducting Phase 1 of the BJP enrolment and expansion drive, creating 75 per cent booth committees, 50 per cent Mandal committees and holding election as per BJP’s constitution in 21 states to elect party presidents, I am pleased to announce the elections for the post of National president of the BJP.”

Nadda’s name was proposed by Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari — the party’s ex-chiefs and parliamentary board members.

An old BJP workhorse, Nadda was appointed as the party’s working president in July last year in an indication that the Himachal Pradesh leader was the likely choice for the top organisational job.

Having risen through the saffron ranks, Nadda has long been a member of the BJP parliamentary board, its highest decision making body. He had served as a minister in the first Modi government.

Nadda’s decades-long experience in the organisation, starting from student politics, proximity to the RSS and clean image are seen as his strengths.

The election of a new president brings to end incumbent Shah’s tenure of over five-and-a-half years during which the BJP expanded its footprints across the country like never before and enjoyed its best phase in electoral contests despite suffering a few setbacks in state polls.

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