The Bench and the Bar

The NUJS Kolkata graduate who blogged about having been allegedly sexually assaulted by a former Supreme Court judge in 2012, released a statement requesting privacy until she would depose before the Supreme Court’s three-judge inquiry, which was set up yesterday.

The Supreme Court has set up a three-judge committee to probe the allegation that a retired Supreme Court judge sexually harassed a law student intern in late 2012.

A 75-year-old lawyer petitioned the Supreme Court to abolish the custom of addressing judges as “my lord” and “your lordship” as being “against the dignity of the country”, reported the PTI.

Shiv Sagar Tiwari said that “using the word My Lord and Your Lordship which is symbol of slavery should be strictly prohibited to be used in the courts throughout India as it is against the dignity of the country”.

He also submitted that the Bar Council of India has already passed a resolution in 2006 saying that nobody will address the court in India as My Lord and Your Lordship but it is not being followed.

The bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it could not issue a direction to prevent these term from being used and questioned whether any court insisted on it, as the petitioner claimed that one of his Supreme Court cases was dismissed because he did not use the honorific. Gogoi then recused himself from the case, which is now up for re-listing.

The SC stayed the Gauhati HC’s order that the CBI is unconstitutional, three days after the 6 November order, in an urgent hearing at the Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam’s residence on Saturday, reported Firstpost.

Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati had filed a special leave petition on behalf of the Department of Personel and Training, appealing the HC’s verdict. The HC’s verdict would impact 9,000 trials and 1,000 investigation currently ongoing at the CBI, he stated on behalf of the centre.

Experts told the Economic Times that with its legal status in doubt, the CBI would have to fend off challenges in every single case it investigates or prosecutes.

Supreme Court Justice J Chelameshwar indirectly heaped praise on Congress politician Rahul Gandhi at a judge-felicitation ceremony, by giving him credit for being the saviour of the SC judgment disqualifying convicted politicians, reported the Times of India. His praise was in these words:

“A great man has intervened at the last minute and ensured the scrapping of the ordinance and it was because of that great man's endorsement of the correctness of the SC judgement, it could be saved. That great man had done immense service to the nation through his timely intervention.”

Legally India Supreme Court postcard writer claimed on Twitter that Chelameshwar’s statement could be in direct breach of point eight of the judicial code of conduct. Point 8 reads:

“(8) A Judge shall not enter into public debate or express his views in public on political matters or on matters that are pending or are likely to arise for judicial determination.”

The Civil Services Board (CSB) ordered to be set up by the Supreme Court on Thursday, will now replace ministers’ power to manage bureaucrats via transfers, postings, inquiries, promotions, reward, punishment and disciplinary matters, reported The Hindu.

The SC also suggested a fixed tenure for civil servants and said they should not act on the verbal orders of politicians.

A bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and Pinaki Chandra Ghose gave the directions while disposing of a petition filed by former Union Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian; former chief election commissioners TS Krishnamurthy and N Gopalaswami; former Indian Ambassador to the US Abid Hussain; former CBI Director Joginder Singh; former Manipur Governor Ved Prakash Marwah and 77 others.

The Supreme Court has, for the third time, upheld the appointment of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairman UK Sinha, Mint reported.

Dismissing a September 2012 petition filed by a Bangalore-based financial expert alleging irregularities in the process of his appointment, a bench of justices SS Nijjar and PC Ghose said that even though the petition was worth dismissing on several grounds they chose to examine the issue to “satisfy [their] judicial conscience”

In substance the petition had asserted that rules were bent to select Sinha to the chair.

In Friday’s 87-page order the judges accused the petitioners of being “stool pigeons” of powerful corporate lobbies, reported the Business Standard. They said: “We are unable to easily discard the reasoning. The anxiety of these business houses for the removal of the present Sebi chairman is not wholly unimaginable. We have been left with the very unsavoury impression that the petition is more for the protection of the vested interests of some unidentified business lobbies.”

Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium has joined English barristers’ chamber 3 Verulam Buildings as an associate member and arbitrator.

The Delhi government today asked the Supreme Court to revive the ten-fold hike in court fees under last year’s Court Fee (Delhi Amendment) Act 2012 which was struck down by the Delhi HC on 9 October, reported the PTI.

Justice GS Singhvi’s bench will hear the matter on Monday on a priority basis. The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) had succeeded in its challenge to the amendment act, as first reported by Legally India.

Advocate’s wheelchair stolen, police indifferent: A differently-abled Madras HC advocate’s Rs 20,000 wheelchair was stolen inside the Madras HC premises three weeks ago but the police refused to even register an FIR for his complaint and a senior official asked him to get a new wheelchair, alleged the advocate. He’s now appealing to the court registrar for help [Deccan Chronicle]

The Supreme Court has passed a landmark award in Indian medical negligence against a Kolkata hospital for the negligent death of Anuradha Saha in 1998.

Maha lawyers’ strike winds down after 54th-day CJ meet: Lawyers from six districts in Maharashtra who were demanding a Bombay HC circuit bench in Kolhapur yesterday ended their 55-day boycott of courts, “respecting the judiciary” after an hour-long meeting with Bombay HC chief justice Mohit Shah who asked them to call off the boycott before taking any decision. He assured them that a senior official has visited Kolhapur to asses the city;s infrastructure for a court [TOI/TOI]

Orissa lawyers end 25-day strike : Orissa high court lawyers will end their 25-days long boycott of courts tomorrow, announced the Orissa High Court Bar Association, adding that a team would visit Delhi to urge the president, prime minister ad union law minister to ignore the state government’s recommendation for circuit benches of the Orissa HC in southern and western Orissa [PTI]

Lawyer files Bombay HC PIL against striking lawyers: Fed up of court boycotts, a Satara-based lawyer Manoj Shirsat has moved a petition in the Bombay HC against the striking Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council and six other bar associations who are demanding a high court bench to be set up in their respective districts [DNA]

The Supreme Court’s guidelines to deal with sexual harassment complaints within the court corridors are now up on its website, reported PTI.

The Gender Sensitisation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal), Regulations 2013 [link via Gazette] were framed on 17 July after a petition by Supreme Court advocates Binu Tamta and Vibha Datta Makhija.

Women in the Supreme Court, whether they are its employees or not have the right to relief under the regulations. A seven to 13 member Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee will deal with complaints under the regulation.