SC appoints Justice (Retd) A K Patnaik to hold inquiry into claims of conspiracy against CJI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday constituted a one-man panel of former apex court judge Justice A K Patnaik to hold inquiry into the allegations of larger conspiracy to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and fixing of benches in the top court.
The apex court asked the Directors of CBI and IB as also the Delhi Police Commissioner to cooperate with Justice (Retd) Patnaik as and when sought by him during the inquiry.
It said however that the inquiry by will not deal with the allegations of sexual harassment against the CJI, levelled by an ex-employee of the top court.
It said the outcome of the inquiry will not affect the in-house committee which is dealing with the complaint against the CJI.
The apex court said that on the completion of inquiry, Justice (Retd) Patnaik will file a report in a sealed cover before the court after which the matter will be heard again.
It left it to the panel to take assistance of the people required for the inquiry.
In the order, a special bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said: "Considering the factual gamut and the affidavits filed by advocate Utsav Singh Bains, we are appointing Justice A K Patnaik, retired judge of this court, to hold inquiry into the allegations levelled in the affidavit filed by Bains."
The bench, also comprising Justices R F Nariman and Deepak Gupta, clarified that he "would not deal with the allegations of mis-behaviour by the CJI".
It also said that the "outcome of the inquiry and its findings" would not affect the in-house inquiry which has been ordered.
The bench further said: "Directors of CBI and IB and Delhi Police Commissioner would render cooperation to Justice (Retd) Patnaik as and when required during his inquiry."
The bench ordered that the affidavit filed by Bains be transferred to Justice (Retd) Patnaik in a sealed cover.
While dictating the order, the bench at the outset said, "We have decided that no privilege can be claimed on certain communications the advocate is claiming and he has to disclose the information as and when required."
The Supreme Court earlier on Thursday expressed anguish over the "systematic attack" on the judiciary and said time has come to tell the rich and powerful of this country that they are "playing with fire".
The apex court made this observation while hearing claims made by Bains that there was a larger conspiracy to frame the CJI on allegations of sexual harassment.
The bench said, "The way this institution is treated in last few years we must say that we will not survive if this will happen. "There is a systematic attack, systematic game to malign this institution."
In an apparent reference to controversies that plagued the top judiciary last year, Justice Mishra also observed that truth has not come out yet.
"People should know the truth. This is going on and this has to stop," the bench said. "Do the rich and powerful of this country think that they can remote control the Supreme Court," it said.
In an unprecedented presser on January 12 last year, four senior judges of the apex court -- CJI Gogoi, the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices J Chelameswar, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- had raised a litany of problems, including assigning of cases in the top court, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court
The apex court also said Thursday that so many things are going around in the judiciary and when somebody tries to fix it, the person is maligned.
"We have come to this extent of blackmailing. You don't know what is going on," the bench said without elaborating.
The bench said that 4-5 percent are bringing bad name to this institution and "we are worried as judges why we have come to this? We are very concerned."
"The day has come that we rise and tell rich and powerful persons of this country that they can't do it. You are playing with fire," the bench said, adding, "every day, everybody is trying to influence us."
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that instead of an inquiry, an SIT probe should be ordered into allegations levelled by Bains.
At the outset, Bains filed an additional affidavit in a sealed cover in the court in support of his claims.
The bench then asked Attorney General K K Venugopal about the issue of privilege claimed by Bains over certain communications being protected under provisions of the advocate's act.
Venugopal, while referring to provisions of law, said there was no lawyer-client relationship in this case as Bains has filed affidavit in his personal capacity and thus he cannot claim privilege over certain communications.
Senior advocate and President of Supreme Court Bar Association Rakesh Khanna also told the bench that the court has the power to summon any document related to the case and Bains cannot claim privilege over certain communications.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, who is appearing in person in the matter, told the bench that they should clarify there is no connection between the hearing of affidavit of Bains and the separate inquiry committee proceedings on allegations of sexual harassment against the CJI.
Bains had filed an affidavit following the unprecedented hearing on Saturday during which Justice Gogoi had said some "bigger force" was behind the sexual harassment allegations as they wanted to "deactivate" the CJI's office.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
