NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented decision, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday gave permission to the CBI to register a case (FIR) against sitting Allahabad high court judge Justice SN Shukla under the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged favours to a private medical college for MBBS admissions.Nearly 30 years ago, the apex court in the K Veeraswamy case on July 25, 1991 had prevented any investigating agency from lodging an FIR against a sitting Supreme Court or HC judge without first showing the evidence to the CJI for permission to investigate the judge.Before 1991, no investigating agency had ever probed a sitting HC judge and this is the first time since then that the CJI granted permission to an investigating agency to lodge an FIR against a sitting judge. The CBI will soon register a case against Justice Shukla, an ignominious development that will get aggravated by the possibility of his arrest under the PC Act.The investigating agency had written to CJI Gogoi to seek permission to investigate Justice Shukla in the case.Seeking permission to probe Allahabad HC judge SN Shukla, the CBI director had written to the CJI saying, "Aforementioned preliminary enquiry (PE) was registered by the CBI against Justice Sri Narayan Shukla of the high court of Allahabad, Lucknow bench, Uttar Pradesh, and others on the advice of the then CJI ( Dipak Misra ) when the matter regarding alleged misconduct of Justice Shukla was brought to his knowledge."Attaching a brief note on the PE with a chronological chart, the CBI director had said, "If deemed appropriate, permission may be granted to initiate a regular case for investigation." After perusing the material, the CJI wrote to the CBI director, "I have considered the note appended to your letter on the above subject. In the facts and circumstances of the case, I am constrained to grant permission to initiate a regular case for investigation as sought for in your letter under reference."Last month, CJI Gogoi had written to PM Narendra Modi for moving a motion in Parliament for removal of Justice Shukla, an action first recommended 19 months ago by then CJI Misra after an in-house inquiry panel found him guilty of serious judicial irregularities. Prior to writing to Modi, CJI Gogoi rejected Justice Shukla's request for re-allocation of judicial work, which was withdrawn from him on January 22, 2018, following his indictment by the in-house panel.On a September 2017 complaint of UP advocate general Raghvendra Singh alleging malpractices against Justice Shukla, then CJI Misra had set up a panel comprising then Madras HC CJ Indira Banerjee , then Sikkim HC CJ SK Agnihotri and MP HC's Justice PK Jaiswal to inquire into alleged favours shown by Justice Shukla to a private medical college by extending deadline for admission of students in violation of an SC order.The panel concluded that "there is sufficient substance in the allegations contained in the complaints against Justice Shukla and the aberrations complained of are serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for his removal". It had also said Justice Shukla had "disgraced the values of judicial life, acted in a manner unbecoming of a judge" to lower the "majesty, dignity and credibility of his office" and acted in breach of his oath of office. After receiving the panel's report, then CJI Misra had asked Justice Shukla to either resign or seek voluntary retirement.But Justice Shukla declined to do either.Read this story in Marathi