The Supreme Court has directed an inquiry into allegations that a judge of the higher judiciary contacted Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma, Judicial Member of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Chennai, seeking a favourable order in an insolvency matter.
The inquiry will be conducted by the Secretary General of the Supreme Court, who will ascertain whether the call was indeed made by a High Court or Supreme Court judge, and if so, identify the individual concerned. The Apex Court will decide the further course of action based on the inquiry’s findings.
The development follows an order, when Justice Sharma recused himself from hearing an appeal filed by Attluru Sreenivasulu Reddy, suspended director of KLSR Infratech Ltd., against AS Met Corp Pvt. Ltd. and another respondent. In that order, Justice Sharma observed, “We are anguished to observe, that one of us, Member (Judicial), has been approached by one of the most revered members of the higher judiciary of this country for seeking an order in favour of a particular party. Hence, I recuse to hear the matter.”
The two-member bench, which included Member (Technical) Jatindranath Swain, referred the matter to the NCLAT Chairperson for reallocation. Justice Sharma had received a message on his mobile phone, which he showed to the lawyers in the case before recusing himself. The contents of the message remain undisclosed.
The appeal concerns a 2023 challenge to an order admitting a Hyderabad-based company into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). With Justice Sharma’s recusal, the case will now be placed before the chairperson for the constitution of a fresh bench.
This is not the first instance of Justice Sharma recusing himself on similar grounds. On June 11, while adjudicating appeals arising from disputes involving Shri Ramalinga Mills and related companies, he observed that a respondent had attempted to influence him for a favourable judgment, prompting his recusal. Subsequently, in November 2024, he recused from a matter concerning Jeppiar Cements, noting in the order that he had been approached by his brother to reserve the case for orders.
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