Talk of corruption and inexplicable silence of the apex court

December 10, 2021 was a dark day in the history of the Indian judiciary, especially that of the Supreme Court of India. in a television interviewWhere the question was raised whether there is corruption in the Supreme Court of India, former Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said: “Corruption is as old as society. Corruption has become an accepted way of life and judges do not fall from heaven.”

it undermines confidence

Justice Gogoi’s attack was against the entire Supreme Court and defamed the entire institution of the Supreme Court, which demands immediate redress. Wilmot, CJ Inn r vs almon, observed as early as 1765: “…and whenever the loyalty of men to the law is so fundamentally shaken, it is the deadliest and most dangerous obstacle to justice and, in my opinion, any calls for more rapid and immediate redressal whatever other obstacle; not for the judges, as private persons, but because they are the means by which the justice of the king is conveyed to the people.”

Read also | Shouldn’t have been part of the bench: Ex-CJI

in the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court Brahm Prakash Sharma vs State of UP (1953) said: “It is only to reiterate what has been said so many times by various judges that the object of contempt proceedings is not to protect the judges from the charges to which they have been personally exposed.” It is intended for a protection to the public, whose interests will be greatly affected if, by the act or conduct of any party, the authority of the Court is curtailed and the people have a sense of confidence in the administration of justice. is weak.”

The Supreme Court in 2020 found advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court, “for shaking the public’s confidence in the institution” and “creating an impression that … the judges who have presided over the Supreme Court for the past six The period of years has a special role to play in the destruction of Indian democracy.” The Court found that taking into account the circumstance to be present was about the “person making the statement”; It held that “a person is not expected to be a part of the system of administration of justice and who pays a duty to the said system, to make such tweets which are likely to shake the confidence of the general public”. able,” read the verdict.

Now a bench headed by former CJI, Justice Gogoi had actually initiated contempt proceedings against former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju for making similar statements (against judges in a blog), but These were removed after his unconditional apology.

editorial | Competitive unfairness: On Ranjan Gogoi’s Rajya Sabha nomination

So what happens when a humiliating assault is made and the court is defamed by a former CJI?

A top judge and his conduct

Justice Gogoi’s conduct raises serious questions. During his tenure as CJI, eight cases of a Special Professional Group were assigned to benches headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Arun Mishra. All these cases were decided in favor of the said business house, due to which it got relief of thousands of crores. Interestingly, in one such case, CA No. 11133/2011, the said business house has recently settled the matter with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited, excluding a claim of ₹ 11,000 crore, as per reports, But only after a five-judge bench, the Supreme Court under an extraordinary remedial power, decided to rectify the verdict in favor of the business house.

Sadly, other states or authorities have not come forward with similar curative petitions for the Court to act. One gets the impression that the state or the authorities are happy to accept the multi-crore rupee judgments against them which are made under questionable circumstances. Thus, what they could not do directly, they are allowing it to be done indirectly – through their silence.

editorial | In his own cause: On the complaint against CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Interestingly, this case – CA No 11133/2011 was taken up during summer vacation in 2019.

Another case (CA No. 9023/2018) of the same business group, which was also not an urgent leave matter, was listed on 21st May, 2019, when the following order was passed: “Listened to Shri Ranjit Kumar, Senior Advocate appearing for learned appellant. List for further debate tomorrow, i.e. Wednesday, 22nd May, 2019.”

On 22 May, the matter was concluded and the judgment was reserved with the following order: “Heard learned senior counsel Shri Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the appellant and Shri Tushar Mehta, learned learned Solicitor General appearing for the respondent. Arguments concluded. Verdict. Safe.”

Relevantly, on April 8, 2019, the Registrar Judicial of the Supreme Court had passed an order stating that “the matters of regular hearing shall be taken up as per the guidelines and norms approved by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India”, i.e., CJI Gogoi. . So, has he blamed himself?

On this issue, I addressed a letter to the then CJI, Justice Gogoi and other Supreme Court judges on August 16, 2019, pointing out the gross abuse of judicial process with the request: “I have hope and faith That you will look into the matter and take corrective steps as deemed fit for the safety of this institution.” Sadly, my letter was not accepted even though it was received.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, to which Justice Arun Mishra was a party, observed in 2018 that “the Chief Justice is the master of the roster; he has the prerogative to constitute the benches of the court and to allocate cases to the benches so constituted”. , and that, “In view of the aforesaid, any order passed which is contrary to this order is held to be ineffective in law and not binding on the Chief Justice of India.”

Now why would the former CJI, Justice Gogoi, allow the cases of a business group to be heard by a bench headed by a particular judge? Why did they not take any action even after their attention was drawn to the irregularities? At the release of his book on December 8, 2021, the now former CJI welcomed the concerned industrialist and his family as guests.

This has happened only once in the history of the Supreme Court when a bench headed by (now former) CJI Justice KN Singh had heard and decided matters relating to a particular business group, giving it substantial relief. But then perhaps following an outcry from members of the Bar and the then Attorney General, (now former) CJI HJ Kania acted swiftly and decisively to roll back the orders and restore the Supreme Court’s image and prestige, thereby Rule served. of law.

court should act

Crony capitalism is a curse for this country. The Supreme Court itself has come down heavily on corruption in public life and has repeatedly directed that action be taken against bureaucrats and politicians found guilty of corruption. Corruption is indeed a curse as far as our democracy is concerned. The judiciary should be completely independent and free from any influence. This is really so, generally and overall. It has served the country well. Former CJI, Justice Gogoi has done a lot of damage to the institution he allegedly served. So, one wonders why there is complete silence on the part of this great institution. Certainly, action is needed against the former CJI, Justice Gogoi and his actions or inaction. The Court itself has held that in such a situation, it should act itself without waiting for the Attorney General or any person to approach the Court. If this is not done, citizens’ confidence in the integrity of the institution will be seriously destroyed – perhaps irreparably.

Dushyant Dave is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association.