New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday reconsidered a plea for urgent hearing of a petition challenging the appointment of lawyer Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as a judge of the Madras High Court, and advanced the date of hearing to February 7 from February 10.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala took note of fresh mentioning of the case by senior advocate Raju Ramachandran who drew the court's attention to the Centre's notification appointing Gowri as an additional judge.
"Since we have taken cognisance of the development, we can list it tomorrow morning. We can constitute a bench," the CJI-led bench said when the plea was re-mentioned.
Earlier in the day, the top court had agreed to hear on February 10 the plea challenging the appointment of Gowri.
After the case was first mentioned in the forenoon proceeding, the Centre's notification appointing a total of 11 advocates and two judicial officers as additional judges in the high courts of Allahabad, Karnataka and Madras came in public domain.
One of those appointed to the Madras High Court is advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri, whose reported affiliation to the BJP had triggered a controversy.
The proposal to elevate the woman lawyer, who has been representing the Centre before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, later reportedly became controversial after reports emerged about her alleged affiliation to the BJP.
Some purported statements of the lawyer, allegedly against Muslims and Christians, have surfaced in public domain.
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Mumbai, Mar 29: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday asked the BJP to apologise to former prime minister Manmohan Singh after the CBI filed a closure report in its Air India-Indian Airlines merger case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a closure report in its probe into the alleged irregularities in the leasing of aircraft by NACIL, a company formed by the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines during the UPA era, as there was no "evidence of any wrongdoing", officials said Thursday.
NCP leader Praful Patel, who now belongs to the outfit headed by Ajit Pawar, was the Union civil aviation minister in the earlier Congress-led United Progress Alliance (UPA) government when the leasing was done.
Talking to reporters, Raut said the BJP had made a hue and cry over alleged corruption in the civil aviation sector during Manmohan Singh's tenure as PM.
"The BJP must apologise to Dr Singh," he said.
The National Aviation Corporation of India Limited (NACIL) was formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.
The CBI has alleged that the decision was made "dishonestly", and the aircraft were leased even while an acquisition programme was going on.
The leasing decision was taken "in conspiracy with other unknown persons on extraneous considerations" that resulted in "pecuniary benefit" to private companies and consequent "loss to the government exchequer," the CBI had alleged in its FIR.
About the reported discord among MVA partners ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Raut said there is no dispute among the allies over seat sharing.
The opposition grouping MVA comprises the Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
"On April 3, a press conference of MVA leaders will be held at Shivalaya, the Sena (UBT) office. Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Congress leaders Nana Patole, Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat will be present," he said.
Raut also said that Thackeray will also attend the opposition INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on March 31, organised to "safeguard the country's interests and democracy".
The opposition parties announced the rally last week following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an excise policy-linked money-laundering case.