'Black day' in Supreme Court history: Prashant Bhushan explains ordeal

Agencies
November 11, 2017

New Delhi, Nov 11: Petitioner and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who had sought an SIT Investigation in the medical college bribery scam, termed the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Dipak Misra, overriding J Chelameshwar's order as a 'black day' in the history of the Supreme Court.

"I feel that the behaviour of the CJI and the bench was not proper. We haven’t yet seen the order of the court. We’ll first see and then take the call on our future course of action," Bhushan said.

"But this is certainly a black day in the history of the Supreme Court," he added.

The above-mentioned matter pertains to a medical college bribery scam against IM Quddusi (retired Orissa High Court judge) who was arrested among others, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

On Thursday, a Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justices J Chelameshwar and Abdul Nazeer, referred the PIL, in the matter, to a five-judge bench, scheduled to conduct a hearing on Monday.

However, the case took an interesting turn today, when another Supreme Court bench comprising the current CJI, Dipak Misra, pronounced the order by Justice J Chelameswar null and void.

Bhushan, earlier in the day, tweeted that CJI Dipak Misra presided over a "hand-picked bench to override yesterday's order" by another top court bench.

Speaking to news agency, Bhushan went on to explain the ordeal of the day's proceedings.

"It was one of the most unfortunate days for the Supreme Court and the judiciary, where the credibility of the court has been greatly undermined and that too effectively by the CJI himself. The petition was seeking an independent SIT investigation into a CBI FIR effectively registered against the judges of SC, including the CJI, particularly the CJI. We were asking for an independent SIT investigation and that it should not be left with the CBI, which is a caged parrot under the Central Government," Bhushan said.

"A similar matter was heard the previous day in which it was observed that it is a very important case and can have serious ramifications and therefore, it should be heard by five seniormost judges of the Supreme Court on Monday. Today when our matter came to a different bench, the two judges first apparently said that it should be connected with the earlier case but then at 2:45 pm, I received a call from the registry that the CJI has constituted a seven-judge bench," he added.

Bhushan further said that thereafter, a five bench started the proceedings, but instead of hearing the matter on merits, it started asking all kinds of random lawyers present there about the propriety of court no. 2 hearing this matter the previous day.

"When I said that the CJI should not be hearing this matter because he has a conflict of interest as this FIR is effectively seeking an investigation into his role also, he ignored my point and once again started listening to random lawyers," he said, adding, "He did not allow me to say anything on the merits of the case."

Bhushan added that after trying for four-five times, he left the court.

"Thereafter, apparently he passed an order saying that he is the 'master of roles', and that he would only assign the benches," he concluded.

Bhushan had earlier tweeted, "Extraordinary proceedings in SC today in the case seeking SIT Investigation in medical college bribery case involving the CJI! CJI presided over a hand picked bench to override yesterday's order referring this case to top 5 judges.This despite having a direct conflict of interest."

"The court proceedings were extraordinary in that the CJI was asking all kinds of lawyers who were not parties to say things against the order of Court 2, w/o hearing petitioner. He tried to justify his role in the medical college case & speak against 'impropriety' of Court 2," he had added.

The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), a non-governmental organisation represented by Bhushan, had moved a petition seeking an independent court-monitored probe into the alleged scam. This petition was first posted before a bench headed by Justice Chalameswar on November 10.

The petition was later moved to a bench headed by Justice AK Sikri.

Advocate Kamini Jaiswal also moved a similar petition, which was mentioned before a two-judge bench headed by Justice Chelameswar for urgent hearing. This bench later referred the matter to a larger five-judge Constitution bench, ordered to have five seniormost judges of the Supreme Court.

On Friday, the petition filed by Prashant Bhushan, similar to Jaiswal's, came up before the bench of Justice Sikri.

Quddusi allegedly used his influence to help Uttar Pradesh-based Prasad Education Trust in "settling" a matter involving their plea to set up medical colleges pending in the Supreme Court.

The Trust owned one of the 46 medical colleges barred by the central government from admitting students. The accused were subsequently granted bail, but the same was not challenged by CBI.

Following granting of the bail, two parties (advocate Kamini Jaiswal and CJAR) filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking the constitution of an SIT to investigate the allegations, with a retired judge monitoring the same.

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News Network
November 25,2024

Udupi: Six junior artists from the prequel of Kannada blockbuster film ‘Kantara’ were injured, when the bus they were travelling in overturned in the district, police said on Monday.

According to police, the accident occurred near Jadkal on Sunday night when the mini-bus carrying the crew of the film overturned.

“The incident happened while they were returning to Kollur after completing the shoot at Mudoor in Jadkal. The mini-bus was carrying 20 junior artistes when it met with the accident,” a police officer said.

The injured were rushed to hospitals in Jadkal and Kundapur for treatment, they said.

The Kollur police are investigating the matter.

"The news making rounds is completely false. The Kantara: Chapter 1 team began shooting at 06:00 AM today, and everything is proceeding as normal. A minor accident occurred 20 kilometres away from the shooting location, involving a local bus carrying some members of the Kantara team. However, no injuries were reported," a source close to the production said.

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News Network
November 11,2024

hospital.jpg

Mangaluru: In a deeply tragic turn of events, a 28-year-old woman named Ranjitha, who had recently given birth but tragically lost her newborn, ended her life by suicide on Monday. She reportedly leapt from the fourth-floor window of Lady Goschen Hospital’s luggage room.

Ranjitha, whose strength and resilience had carried her through a difficult pregnancy, was scheduled for discharge on Monday. Her journey to Lady Goschen Hospital began on October 24, when she was transferred from Karkala. She was a high-risk patient, battling both hypertension and diabetes. At the time of her admission, she was just 27 weeks pregnant.

Due to the complexities of her health, doctors made the difficult decision to perform an emergency C-section on October 30. She delivered a baby girl, premature and weighing only 960 grams. The newborn was immediately moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where doctors did all they could. Despite these efforts, the baby passed away on November 3.

Ranjitha’s sorrow was profound. She stayed under hospital care even after her initial recovery and was preparing to go home on November 9. She had even requested a couple more days at the hospital, seeking time perhaps to cope with her unimaginable grief.

On the day of her discharge, a discharge card ready and her family eagerly waiting to take her home, Ranjitha reportedly made her way to the luggage room in the early hours. There, standing on a cot placed for patients' family members, she climbed to a window and fell from the fourth floor. Despite the attempts of another visitor to intervene, tragedy was inevitable. She was rushed to Government Wenlock Hospital, where doctors confirmed the worst—she was no more.

Dr. Durgaparasad M R, the Medical Superintendent at Lady Goschen Hospital, shared his grief and spoke of the ongoing investigation. A post-mortem is to be conducted, and the local Tahsildar will complete the necessary inquest procedures. Ranjitha’s exact reasons for taking this step are yet to be confirmed, though the weight of her recent losses paints a sorrowful picture.

If you or anyone you know is struggling emotionally, please remember that help is available. Reach out to mental health experts who can provide support and guidance. The toll-free helpline number 9152987821 is available to assist anyone in distress.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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