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Justice Sikri recuses himself from hearing plea contesting appointment of CBI interim chief

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Justice AK Sikri

Apprehensions of Supreme Court Justice AK Sikri recusing himself from hearing the petition challenging appointment of M Nageswara Rao as interim CBI director came true today (Thursday, Jan 24).

Earlier, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi had recused himself from the case and ordered that the plea be heard by a Bench headed by Justice Sikri on Jan 24.

Today is also the day when the high powered selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI or his nominee and the Leader of Opposition – or the leader of largest opposition party – meets to choose a CBI directo from a list of 17 IPS officers. The CJI had cited this as the reason for his inability to hear the case.

Justice Sikri, withdrawing himself from hearing of the case, said, “I would have opted out had CJI passed an administrative order allotting the case to me. But CJI did it in court and I had no opportunity to refuse.” He then asked the matter to be listed tomorrow (Friday, January 25).

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave protested Sikri’s move today, saying the Supreme Court was trying to frustrate the cause of the petition. “The high-powered committee is meeting today on a new CBI Director. Hearing this case tomorrow is too late. We wish you hear this case. We have no problem with you having participated in the earlier committee meeting to remove Alok Verma,” he said.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, who appeared for the government, also agreed with Mr. Dave that Justice Sikri should hear the case. “I wish I could. There are points of interest in this case. But, no. Better not to,” said Justice Sikri.

“Since I’m rescuing, I cant hear…please understand my position” Justice Sikri told senior advocate Dushyant Dave, who is representing the petitioner.

Justice Sikri was part of the selection committee meeting on Jan 10, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which removed Alok Verma as CBI Director and paved the way for the appointment of Rao as interim Director. The CJI had named Justice Sikri as his nominee and recused himself from being part of the selection committee to decide if Verma can continue in office as he had authored the verdict that conditionally reinstated Verma as CBI director on January 8, over two months after he was divested of his charge by the CVC and the Modi government.

In the committee meeting, Justice Sikri had voted with PM Modi to remove Verma, resulting in a 2:1 verdict against the CBI director.

Leader of Congress, the largest opposition party, Mallikarjun Kharge had disagreed with the decision.

With Verma’s removal, Rao was brought back as the interim CBI chief. Earlier, Rao had held the same position when Verma was on forced leave and his petition in the apex court challenging the Centre’s decision to divest him of his responsibilities was pending decision.

Rao’s appointment was challenged before a bench headed by Chief Justice Gogoi, but the CJI had recused himself from hearing the plea, citing the selection committee meeting on Jan 24 to choose Verma’s successor and directed the Registry to list the petition before another bench that did not include him.

The petition was then listed before the bench of Justices Sikri, S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah. However, as soon as the case came up for hearing, on Thursday, Justice Sikri announced that he is recusing himself from hearing the case and that the petition must be listed before a different bench with the permission of the Chief Justice.

It was known that Justice Sikri would likely recuse himself from the matter given his involvement in Verma’s dismissal. Yet, the petition was listed before a bench headed by him.

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To browbeat, bully others is vintage Congress, says PM Modi after lawyers express concern over attempts to undermine judiciary

Lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

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PM Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party after more than 600 lawyers and some bar associations across the country wrote to the Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, expressing concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity using political and professional pressure.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote that to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. He recalled that five decades ago, the party itself had called for a committed judiciary, adding that they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests, but desist from any commitment towards the nation. He concluded that no wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments followed after lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

The lawyers said the tactics used by the vested interest group are damaging the courts and threatening democratic fabric. They stated that Chief Justice Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these tough times and the Supreme Court should stand strong, adding it is not the time to maintain dignified silence.

Without naming, the letter also targeted a section of lawyers and alleged they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Furthermore, they claimed that some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way.

In addition, the All Manipur Bar Association had also written to CJI DY Chandrachud highlighting the need to speak out against underhanded attacks on the judiciary on Wednesday. In its letter, the bar association said that it was extremely concerned about recent trends where vested interest groups were trying to defame the courts with frivolous logic and stale political agendas.

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Delhi Court extends ED custody of CM Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

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The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1. The Chief Minister will remain in custody till Monday, after which he will be presented in front of the court bench for further proceedings in the case.

The court has passed its order for the extension of the remand in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, being investigated by the ED for the last two years. Arvind Kejriwal is the fourth Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to be arrested in this case. Previously, Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case. 

During the hearing today, the ED argued that Arvind Kejriwal needs to be brought face to face with some of the accused in the excise policy case. The ED further said that the data in one of the mobile phones, belonging to Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, was extracted and is being analyzed.

Nonetheless, data from the other 4 digital devices seized during search at Arvind Kejriwal’s premises on March 21 are yet to be extracted as the arrestee has sought time to provide password/login credentials after consulting with his lawyers.

In its fresh remand plea, the investigation agency said that during Arvind Kejriwal’s custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded on five days and that he was giving evasive replies. It further said the statements of three other persons have also been recorded during the remand.

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court on Thursday, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said on March 28 that the AAP national convener is not keeping well and is being harassed a lot while in ED custody over the past week. She asserted that the Chief Minister is being harassed a lot and his sugar levels are fluctuating.

CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and was sent to 7-days of custody. His arrest has triggered protests in the national capital and the nearby northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by AAP, over the last few days.

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Lok Sabha elections: Priyanka Gandhi questions Centre on inflation, unemployment, farmers income under Congress media campaign

She questioned about no participation of Dalits, backward classes, tribals, minorities and poor upper castes in the posts and resources of the country.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the BJP led government at the Centre on several developmental issues under the party’s media campaign for Lok Sabha elections, Mere Vikas ka Do Hisaab.

Priyanka Gandhi asked the BJP government to give it an account of development during its tenure of 10 years. Slamming the government on youth issues, the congress leader questioned why 83 per cent of the total unemployed in the country are youth and where are the 2 crore jobs annually? She further asked about vacancy in 30 lakh government posts and exam paper being leaked.

Alleging that corporates Rs 16 lakh crore has been waived off, Priyanka Gandhi asked why are farmers committing suicide due to debt. She also asked when will the farmers’ income double and when will they get MSP? She also enquired about no proper participation of Dalits, backward classes, tribals, minorities and poor upper castes in the posts and resources of the country.

The Congress General Secretary also raised questions on the increasing number of atrocities on women. Her remarks on social media  platform, X came on a day Congress ran a media campaign with the tagline ‘Mere Vikas Ka Do Hisaab’ and ‘Haath badlega halaat’, posing questions to the Modi government.

Earlier, Congress Parliamentary Chairperson Sonia Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a systematic effort to cripple the Congress financially and deny a level playing field in the Lok Sabha election. The Income Tax Department reportedly restricted the operations of the bank accounts following a tax dispute.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department asserted that it has not frozen the party’s bank account, but has made a recovery of Rs 135 crore because of its violation of the law that grants political parties tax exemptions. It added that the party is free to operate these accounts beyond the money recovered by the department.

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