New Delhi: The Supreme Court will decide on Tuesday whether filing of two petitions with identical facts related to alleged bribing of judges amounted to forum hunting and if the allegations made against the CJI Dipak Misra amounted to contempt of court. A three-judge bench, comprising of Justices R.K. Agrawal, Arun Mishra and A.M. Khanwilkar, reserved its on Monday order while considering the maintainability of a petition in which the issue of alleged bribing of judges has been raised. The bench repeatedly warned Prashant Bhushan and other arguing counsel for committing gross contempt of court by making scurrilous allegations against CJI without a shred of evidence.
Justice Mishra told the counsel that it was possible that somebody could have used the names of judges to tell their clients that they would get a favourable order.
He said that much damage had been done by filing this petition and now the question is how to remedy the situation. “Everybody is doubting the system itself,” said Justice Mishra.
The petition was filed by advocate Kamini Jaiswal seeking an SIT probe into the medical admission scam, involving a retired HC judge, on alleging nexus between middlemen and judges of the higher judiciary. On November 9, a bench headed by Justice J. Chelameswar had referred the matter
On Monday the newly-constituted three-judge bench, after a 90- minute hearing in the to a five-judge bench, presided over by top five judges to hear the petition filed by Ms Jaiswal. On November 10, a bench headed by the CJI Misra overturned this order and posted the petition for a fresh hearing before a bench of three judges. The court said it will pronounce its order on whether the allegations made against the CJI amounted to contempt of court.
Justice Mishra said prima facie the allegations amounted to a deliberate attempt to scandalise the institution and denigrate the system.
He said that the second petition ought not to have been filed when the first petition from Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms was listed before another bench for hearing on November 10.
