new Delhi. Chief Justice N.V. Raman said on Friday that a new trend of defaming judges has started by the government. He called it ‘unfortunate’. A bench headed by the Chief Justice was hearing two special petitions, including a petition by the Chhattisgarh government against the High Court’s order that the FIR lodged against former state principal secretary Aman Kumar Singh under the Prevention of Corruption Act was It was dismissed saying that the allegations were prima facie based on probabilities.
The second petition was filed by activist Proper Sharma against the High Court’s decision.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing one of the petitioners, submitted before the bench that the reason for quashing the FIR is that the allegation was based on likelihood. The bench also included Justices Krishna Murari and Hema Kohli. The CJI remarked, “Don’t try to defame the courts. I am looking into this court also….”
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Chhattisgarh government, argued that they were not pressing that point at all. To this, CJI Raman said, “No, we are seeing it every day. You are a senior lawyer, you have seen it more than us.”
“This is a new trend, the government started defaming the judges, it is unfortunate.”
Dave said that he has not maligned anyone’s image in this case. “Please see the logic, this is not a trend and not a retaliation.” He said that the allegation is of disproportionate assets.
The bench said it cannot allow such harassment on the basis of presumptions and allegations made. Dave said that this is not an estimate, and that someone has deposited Rs 2,500 crore, which is shocking, the bench said that the special leave petition was an exaggeration.
Dwivedi submitted that the respondent had one asset worth Rs 11 lakh when he joined the service, and has now purchased 7 properties worth Rs 2.76 crore. After hearing the arguments, the bench fixed the matter for further hearing on April 18.
Sharma had argued that due to his complaint against Singh and his family members, the state government initiated a preliminary inquiry, which revealed that the private respondents had assets, which were disproportionate to their income. Due to this an FIR was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
—AnyTV News
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