Chandigarh, September 27: A controversy of sorts has broken out over the way a former judge’s case is being handled by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court—about seven months after he filed a complaint against two senior politicians from Punjab.
Justice Ranjit Singh’s (retd) complaint against former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and MLA Bikram Singh Majithia was listed for hearing before a single-judge bench of the High Court on Thursday at serial number 235 and was expected to come up for hearing late in the afternoon. The complaint was filed in February this year and has so far come up for hearing seven times.
A senior advocate appearing on Justice Singh’s behalf was not expecting much to happen during the hearing. One of the opposing senior counsels had reportedly intimated him beforehand about his non-availability. The judge hearing the matter, too, was under transfer.
But the judge took Justice Singh’s counsel by “surprise” by taking up the case out of turn. The case was called up for hearing at 2 pm. At the very onset, Justice Singh’s counsel submitted that the case could have been taken up when its turn came later during the day as there was no urgency involved. But the hearing continued for about two hours before the case was adjourned for further proceedings till Monday.
Taking exception, Justice Ranjit Singh sent an SMS to the Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Rajiv Sharma. Since then the message has gone viral and is believed to have been received by the Supreme Court as well.
Justice Ranjit Singh has asserted he filed a complaint against two political leaders for bringing disrepute to him as chairman of a commission appointed by the government to inquire into incidents of sacrilege in the state.
Justice Singh added he was told that the judge left urgent or freshly filed cases and took up his complaint out of turn. The judge started hearing the case on maintainability of his complaint, whereas his counsel was told that the respondent-politician would take date.
Despite protest by Justice Singh’s counsel, the judge heard the case and kept it for Monday.
“The judge is under transfer and is showing undue haste in dealing with case. I apprehend that justice may suffer. I am bringing it to your notice as Acting Chief Justice to take appropriate action considered necessary in the case, where a former judge of this court is before the court to save the honour and prestige of the institution,” Justice Singh said in his message to the Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma.
Justice Singh has filed a criminal complaint against Badal and Majithia for deliberately and willfully making “false, derogatory and defamatory” statements on public platforms against him.
Justice Singh has asserted that the intention was to bring him disrepute and the Commission of Inquiry headed by him for looking into the cases of sacrilege in Punjab during the SAD-BJP regime.
