CJI Allegations: SC asks lawyer to produce material

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked a lawyer to produce materials to substantiate his allegations that a fixer and frontman of designated terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, Romesh Sharma and a corporate giant ganged up to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi in a false case of sexual harassment.

Taking up the suo motu matter registered on Saturday after sensational charge by an ex-woman employee against the CJI got published on some news websites, a three-judge bench presided over by Justice Arun Mishra issued notice to Utsav Singh Bains who had filed an affidavit, alleging he was offered a bribe of Rs 1.5 crore to hold a press conference in this regard.

Since the lawyer was not present during the proceedings, the bench, which was reconstituted with Justices R F Nariman and Deepak Gupta, sought his personal presence and posted the matter for consideration on Wednesday.

“Since the advocate has expressed apprehension of threat to his safety, we direct the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to provide adequate police protection and also to ensure his presence in Court tomorrow,” the bench said in its brief order.

In his affidavit, Bains claimed he was”privy to certain events involving the said corporate figure and will submit in a sealed cover the events and list of the involved persons to this court should it so direct him.”

The court specifically asked the advocate to produce the material in support of his averments that on April 19, “a very reliable person informed him about a corporate figure who tried to approach a SC judge to get a favourable order in a high-profile case but was unsuccessful and then the said corporate figure attempted to get the case transferred but did not succeed and thus ganged up with an alleged fixer by the name of Romesh Sharma and his aides to frame the CJI in a false case of sexual harassment to pressurize him to resign.”

Bains had also claimed he was contacted by a person who identified himself as Ajay and a relative of the woman employee to hold a press conference on her charges and offered him Rs 1.5 crore.