SC decision today in medical bribery case

VENUGOPAL SAID THAT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TWO PETITIONS ‘CAUSED DEEP WOUNDS IN THE JUDICIARY AND THE BAR’ AND ‘WILL TAKE A LONG TIME TO HEAL’

NEWDELHI: KK Venugopal, attorney general of India, on Monday termed as “hasty” the allegations in two petitions demanding a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) in the arrest of a former Orissa high court judge.

He also added that it was aimed at “dragging the investigation in a particular direction towards a particular result”.

“It should not have been filed,” Venugopal told a special bench of justice RK Agrawal, justice Arun Misra and justice AM Khanwilkar. Denying that any judge was named in the FIR, he asked, “Why on earth must you say... it must be this judge and no one else when no judge is named?”

Venugopal addressed the court in his personal capacity before an SC bench, which is hearing one of the petitions filed by advocate Kamini Jaiswal seeking an SIT probe into the medical admission scam wherein the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has accused retired judge IM Quddusi of assuring favourable orders to Lucknow-based Prasad Medical Trust.

After hearing the parties for over 90 minutes, the court fixed Tuesday to pronounce its order on whether filing of the two petitions, with identical facts, amounted to forum hunting and if the allegations levelled against the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, are contemptuous.

CJI Misra had constituted the special bench to hear Jaiswal’s petition seeking an independent probe into the case.

Venugopal said that developments in the two petitions “caused deep wounds in the judiciary and the Bar” and “will take a long time to heal”. Justice Misra responded, “The damage has already been caused. The outcome doesn’t matter. Everyone is doubting the integrity of this institution. Prima facie it amounts to a deliberate attempt to scandalise the institution and denigrate the system.”