On Monday, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Dushyant Dave wrote to CJI S A Bobde expressing his disappointment for not being invited to speak at the farewell of Justice Arun Kumar Mishra.
Mr Dave wrote, "As President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, I wish to place on record my strong disappointment & condemnation at what happened earlier today in the Supreme Court of India during the farewell to Justice Arun Mishra".
He said that the SC has come to "such levels where the Judges are afraid of the Bar" & added that "judges come & go" but highlighted the bar remain constant.
"We are the real strength of this great Institution because we are permanent. I must say, I am personally deeply saddened by this events & will never again participate in any function being organised by the Supreme Court till my term is over in December," SCBA president said pointing out that he was expecting to be invited to speak on the farewell event but wasn't.
Justice Arun Kumar Mishra, who took over as a Supreme Court judge back in the year 2014, retired from the apex court earlier today. The farewell, which held through video conferencing, was addressed by CJI Bobde, Justice Mishra, Attorney General KK Venugopal, & others.
He said that he joined the Ceremonial Bench of the Chief Justice of India for the farewell at around 12:20 pm & was confirmed by the team saying video & audio were perfect.
"I then had conversations with the AG, the SG, President SCORA, amongst others. Once the court assembled, I saw & heard all the proceedings clearly. At the end Rohtagi bid farewell. After Court work, Venugopal was requested to speak & I saw & heard him fully including as to his disappointment on the punishment of Prashant Bhushan," he added.
"When he ended, I thought that I will be requested to speak, instead Jadhav was requested knowing full well I was present. For some unknown reasons, I was being disconnected again & again but I persisted & rejoined each time. I saw & heard Jadhav fully & at the end of his address again I was not requested to speak though Jadhav has acknowledged my presence in his address," he added.
Realizing the "game plan", Dave said he exited the conference in the larger interests of the dignity of the Bar & himself.
He said that "But what is most important is that I messaged the Secretary-General on Whatsapp at 12:49 & again at 12:53 asking why I was kept on mute & why was I at all invited. Only at 1:02, he responded saying he is instructing Registrar to look into it, by which time it was too late & so I messaged him informing that I had exited".
Dave said that this was an affront to the Bar & to him personally & mentioned in the letter what he was going to speak at the farewell of Justice Mishra.
He said that "While you may have done so fearing that I might say something unpleasant, let me tell you exactly what I was to say which I had written down, 'My Lord the Chief Justice, May I have permission to say few words on behalf of the SCBA & the EC on the retirement of Justice Arun Mishra?' & upon your permission, I was to say, 'On behalf of the SCBA, the EC, & Myself, I wish you Justice Mishra happiness & bliss in the remainder of your long life which by all accounts will be as fruitful & rewarding as it has been. May I pray to Lord Mahabaleshwar to bless you with the strength to introspect & stir up your Conscience".
Source Link
