Karnataka chief justice drops inquiry, initiated on the Centre’s request, against a district judge the collegium had recommended for elevation to the high court.
New Delhi: Karnataka high court Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari has quietly put an end to a highly questionable inquiry against a senior district and sessions judge whose elevation to the high court has been cleared twice by the Supreme Court collegium.
The decision came after the controversial probe was questioned by one of the most senior judges of the Supreme Court, Jasti Chelameswar.
Highly placed sources in the apex court told ThePrint that in a letter to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra last week, Chelameswar had questioned the propriety of Maheshwari initiating an inquiry against district and sessions judge P. Krishna Bhat at the request of the central government.
His letter also refers to the fact that the Modi government had stalled Bhat’s elevation without offering any cogent reason.
After Misra’s office informed the Karnataka chief justice about the letter, Maheshwari is learnt to have conveyed to the Supreme Court that he is ending the probe.
Chelameswar’s letter
In his letter, copies of which were marked to all the SC judges, Chelameswar is learnt to have taken serious objection to Maheshwari’s decision to probe old allegations levelled against Bhat by a female judicial officer despite his predecessor absolving him after a thorough probe.
He also questioned the propriety of the law ministry writing directly to the high court chief justice for a probe against Bhat on the basis of a complaint sent by the woman, who had earlier been indicted by Bhat after an inquiry conducted on the orders of the high court.
“He (Chelmeswar) has raised the right issue,” said a Supreme Court judge who shared the contents of the letter. “How can the high court chief justice decide on his own to launch a fresh probe on old charges against a district judge, knowing full well that his name has been cleared for elevation by the SC collegium, and that the Centre has been sitting on the recommendation for some unstated motive?”
“I am actually surprised that it was Justice Chelameswar who raised the issue and not the CJI, who should have immediately put an end to this unethical and arbitrary action,” the judge added.
According to the judge, Chelamewar’s letter, four to five pages long, also talked about judicial independence and how it was incumbent upon the judiciary to insulate itself from the executive.
He said several other judges of the Supreme Court agreed with the “tenor” of the letter, and wanted CJI Misra to officially raise the issue of the Modi government inexplicably sitting on collegium recommendations for a long period, sometimes almost two years.
Read the full letter:
What is the case against Bhat?
After lawyers practising in a Karnataka district court complained against the conduct of a female judicial officer, the HC had asked Bhat to conduct an inquiry.
In his report, Bhat indicted the female judge. Sources in the Karnataka HC told ThePrint that the female judicial officer had even refused to pay heed to the administrative judge in charge of her district, and walked out of a meeting.
It was only after the administrative committee of the HC sought her explanation that she first filed a written complaint against Bhat, accusing him of “atrocities and abuse of power”. After being indicted, she put in her papers, only to withdraw her resignation within days.
However, after the HC collegium recommended Bhat, the most senior district judge at the time, for elevation to the HC bench, she started sending complaints against him to the Centre and the Supreme Court, accusing him of misbehaviour and targeting her.
After receiving her complaint, the Centre returned the recommendation of the SC collegium to elevate Bhat. The then CJI T.S. Thakur subsequently asked Maheshwari’s predecessor, Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, to hold an inquiry.
In his report, filed in November 2016, Mukherjee gave a clean chit to Bhat, saying the woman’s complaint was without basis, and aimed at maligning Bhat and stalling his appointment as HC judge. He termed the allegations “incorrect and concocted”.
Thereafter, in April last year, the SC collegium reiterated its recommendation, but the Modi government has yet to act on it. Under the memorandum of procedure (MoP), the Centre has no option but to process the case once the collegium reiterates its recommendation.
The main premise for a fresh inquiry against Bhat was that previous Karnataka chief justice Mukherjee had neither called Bhat nor the judicial officer to testify before filing his report. However, he didn’t need to do so as he based his report on facts that were readily available, sources said.
The government’s stand
The government did write to the Karnataka CJ on the matter, annexing the woman’s complaint from December last year and seeking a report, but has washed its hands of the fresh twist in the case.
Sources in the law ministry expressed surprise at the Karnataka CJ’s decision to revisit the matter, maintaining that it was an internal issue of the judiciary. “He (Bhat) is a serving judicial officer and hence is under the administrative control of the state high court,” said a senior functionary in the ministry of law and justice.
“After we received a complaint, we forwarded it to the high court. This is how it is always done. Even we were surprised that he had initiated a fresh inquiry on his own. The issue is, how can the chief justice of a high court examine a complaint when a complaint with almost similar allegations by the same person was found baseless by his predecessor?” the functionary added.
“There has to be closure. But it is an internal matter for the judiciary and the government has no role to play,” the functionary added.
As first reported by ThePrint, the Modi government has been sitting on the SC collegium’s recommendation, first made in August 2016, to elevate Bhat to the high court. The request for the appointment of other judicial officers, recommended at the same time by the high court collegium, was processed.
CONGRESS AGENT CHELAMESHWAR FAKING TO DIVERT THE ATTENTION OF PUBLIC. BETTER JOIN CONGRESS & ANTI NATIONAL BRIGADE…….U HAVE NOT DOEN ANYTHING BETTER FOR THE COUNTRY OR COURT..COMPLETELY BIASED JUSTICE..CHELA SHOUL BE SENT BEHIND BARS FOR HIS PRO ANTI NATIONAL & JIHADI STAND.
MODI GOVT HAS SEEN AN UNWANTED SC JUDGE HOME WHEN IT SAW TO IT JOSEPH MATHEWCJ OF UTTARAKHAND RETIRED IN IGNOMINY. NJAC IS HELD UP FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS. TIT FOR TAT GAME UNREASONABLE.Corruption is present in every human being so no body is exception. It is only the level.
These hulaballo are the flotsam and jetsam of Congress and it’s stooges. Bipin Bihari Sinha. Adv Supreme Court
Justice Cheleshwar should resigned and do the fiels work like Lutyans Media for pro Congi Commie and prefer to join the anti modi cart which is moving towards self suicide.T he Govt of India & PM NaMo to show the courage to impeach such fourmen gang of Politicised judges and investigated.
With same weight can we dismiss Justice Lodiya case? If not why?
Judiciary is a last resort public had faith. Now that ssems to b wrapped up after the appointment of new CJ. He seems to b more as a politician than b a judge, connected to powerful lobby of mantris…
Why collegium is insisting for a particular judge to be elevated when there is a controversy with in judiciary
It’s wonderful to see someone having the courage to take a stand in these days of bending over backwards to toe the line of the govt . Till people like this are still around , there is hope for our great country !
Judiciary is most corrupted one in India.
a coward impotent BJP govt cant save judiciary from blackmail by Congressman and Sonia stooges judges.These 4 judges ought to be impeached by GOVT for dragging the CJI on streets to be absued insulted humilated openly brazenly but MODI govt couldnot punish them rather Congress along with these 4 judges brought Impeachment motion against UPRIGHT HONEST and Judcious CJI.If it was any other Govt he would have been saved the CJI from revolution by 4 judges on open press meet.No where in history of Indian democarcy Judges of SC come out of their chambers to call for Press meet and insult CJI.It is death of Indian democracy by Fascist SONIA and her stooges Media THE PRINT THE WIRE and Lutyens Media.
Yes you are 100% right.The govt of the day is incapable of punishing these “rogues” and this collegiums are filled with the corrupt judges The current system is full of flaws
Modi Ji Govt Has Been Meddling With Judiciary In Unconstitutional Manners Ever Since It Came To Power. It Is The Boldness Of Some Supreme Court Judges That These Interferences Are Coming To Light. Thanks To These Four Senior Most Judges.