JOIN USFormer Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir said he has been “wrongly indicted” by a Supreme Court bench presided over by his successor Justice P Sathasivam. The bench was hearing a petition regarding slapping of a Rs 100-crore fine on Jayprakash Associates.
Kabir claimed that justices P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi, who heard the case, have denied commenting on an order passed by him.
A news report published on Thursday had quoted a bench of CJI Sathasivam and Justice Gogoi saying that a bench headed by Justice Kabir should not have passed some orders while dealing with the case regarding imposing a Rs 100-crore fine on Jayprakash Associates.
“I spoke to the Chief Justice and he said, I had never said this. I also asked Justice Gogoi, who is a partner on this bench, he said certainly not. We have not said this at all,” Justice Kabir pointed out during an interview to a private television channel on Friday. “I have been wrongly indicted by the CJI.”
Kabir is perhaps the only CJI in the recent past to have gone public with his views. He has shared his side of the story to counter controversies surrounding his tenure and, most astonishingly, to the extent of questioning the sitting CJI.
To a question if he felt embarrassed and annoyed by the “indictment,” Justice Kabir said he owed an apology if the comments turn out to be correct.
Kabir also denied “leaking” the NEET judgment he had delivered as part of a three-member bench. The majority verdict holding a common entrance test for medical courses unconstitutional was considered to be a boon for private medical colleges. It was passed on July 18, his last day at office. Justice A R Dave had dissented while Justice Vikramjit Sen had agreed to it.
During the interview, he called activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan his enemy. The remark has invited sharp reactions from the Aam Adami Party leader.
Emphasising that he has been associated with a campaign for judicial accountability for the last 24 years, Prashant Bhushan said there were instances of violation of judicial propriety during Justice Kabir’s tenure.
“I am an enemy of all corrupt practices. So, most of the corrupt judges will regard me as their enemies,” Bhushan told Deccan Herald.