"The SC is not a platform for anyone to express anything and get away. This is a place for adjudication of legal rights. We intend to set it right," said a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph and indicated it will not allow the court to be used as a platform for settling personal, professional or political scores.
The bench was provoked by newspaper reports detailing DIG Manish Kumar Sinha’s application levelling unverified allegations and a web portal publishing purported portions of Verma’s response to the CVC inquiry report on him, both of which were ordered to be kept in sealed cover.
Court takes note of copycat pleas by CBI officers on transfers
The SC had also appealed to all parties on November 16 to maintain strict confidentiality.
The court also seemed to have taken note of copycat petitions by CBI officers protesting against their transfers after the government sent Verma and his number 2, special director Rakesh Asthana, on leave. The pleas by officers seen to be close to Verma suggested that transfers were intended to disrupt sensitive investigations.
An angry CJI dismissed the queue of lawyers requesting urgent listing of cases and gave Verma’s counsel Fali Nariman the report published in a web portal and also drew attention to newspaper reports detailing Sinha’s allegations against several senior figures in the government and serving officers in the CBI. The account was founded on a statement of Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Babu Sana, who is an accused in the cases against meat exporter Moin Qureshi and who gave a statement about bribe being paid to Verma two months before accusing Asthana of extorting Rs 3 crore.
The bench said: “This (the web portal report publishing Verma’s response) is for you to read Mr Nariman, not as a counsel for Verma. We are not giving it to any party but you as you are the most senior and most respected member of the bar. Please help us by suggesting how to proceed with this case.”
Justice Kaul said the court had adopted sealed-cover proceedings with the purpose of protecting the respect and dignity of the institution of CBI. “But see what is going on,” he said. Nariman said, “It must be a free as well as a responsible press. I am disturbed by what you (the bench) have shown to me. Everyone is snooping on the other one.”
The CJI said: “On Monday, we refused a mentioning by a counsel for listing of an application (the one filed by DIG M K Sinha and even after his counsel said it had shocking details, the court had on Monday refused to list it on Tuesday along with Verma’s petition) and we had repeatedly expressed that the highest level of confidentiality must be maintained. But look at this litigant, who goes out and distributes it to everyone. What is happening? Our efforts to maintain the respect and dignity of the institution (CBI) are, unfortunately, not shared by others."
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2FvKBph
