On January 13, 2026, the Supreme Court allowed B. Balamurugan, a retired Indian Revenue Service officer from Chennai, to withdraw his petition to remove portraits of Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar from Parliament and other public buildings. A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant criticised Mr. Balamurugan for filing what it called “frivolous petitions” wasting the court’s time. However, Mr. Balamurugan insisted his petition was filed in public interest. The court gave him a choice to either withdraw the plea or pay ₹1 lakh in court costs. The petitioner chose to withdraw the plea. The Chief Justice also asked Mr. Balamurugan about his career and whether he had faced any corruption charges. CJI Surya Kant said, “such petitions revealed the mindset behind them.” This marks the end of the legal challenge against Savarkar’s portraits in government buildings.