You don’t deserve a hearing: ‘Leaks’ in CBI case irk CJI

Bench lashes out over reports about Verma’s response to CVC and wide coverage of DIG Sinha’s petition

NEW DELHI: High drama was witnessed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, whose bench was to hear the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case, taking umbrage at two media reports and deferring the hearing to November 29 even as he warned that he would not allow anyone to “use the court as a platform” for anyone to express “whatever they want to.”

The bench took strong exception to the wide coverage of a petition filed by a senior CBI officer, Manish Sinha, in the Supreme Court on Monday that made sensational claims against a minister, several CBI officers, the National Security Advisor, the country’s top vigilance officer, and the law secretary.

It said this coverage went against the court’s desire to maintain “respect of the institution (CBI)” and confidentiality. A copy of Sinha’s petition was shared widely by his advocate after mentioning the matter in court — as is the general practice.

The court declined an early hearing of the petition.

Chief Justice Gogoi saw it differently: “Yesterday we refused a mentioning [of Sinha’s petition] and expressed that highest

We are not prepared to hear

To CBI director Alok Verma’s counsel: You don't utter a word today. We will not hear you

To court staff, who scrambled to look for papers: The efficiency of court staffs in court number one is of the highest level.

You all should quit

degree of confidentiality should be maintained. And this litigant gives it to everybody. Our effort to maintain respect for the institution is not respected.”

The court was also incensed over what it initially thought was a leak of CBI director Alok Verma’s affidavit filed in a sealed cover before the bench in response to the Central Vigilance Commissioner’s (CVC’S) enquiry report on the corruption allegations against the agency chief.

“We want to know what is going on. This court is not a platform for people to come and express what they want. This is a place where adjudication of legal

rights takes place. And we intend to set it right,” CJI Gogoi remarked.

It was subsequently clarified on Verma’s behalf that the news report on a website was not this but his response to the Central Vigilance Commission queries that were put to him pursuant to the court’s October 26 order asking the vigilance commissioner to complete the probe within two weeks.

That report expressed Verma’s doubts about the integrity of the CVC and also hinted at the involvement of someone from the Prime Minister’s Office in the case against him.

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