Former SC judge approached me on behalf of CJI: Dave

Ex-Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul's wife withdraws SC plea seeking CBI probe into his death

NEW DELHI: Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul’s widow made sensational allegations against Chief Justice of India J S Khehar in the Supreme Court on Thursday before withdrawing her letter to him seeking a CBI probe into her husband’s 60-page suicide note which allegedly accused judges and politicians of corruption.The purported suicide note, written in pure Hindi, was widely circulated on WhatsApp with the names blurred. Apart from levelling corruption charges against judges, the note allegedly linked Pul’s suicide to the July 13, 2016 judgment by a five-judge SC bench which reinstated the dismissed Congress government in Arunachal and, in the process, pulled down the one headed by Pul. The ex-CM committed suicide on August 9 last year.On February 17, Pul’s widow Dangwimsai had written a two-page letter to the CJI demanding a CBI probe against the judges named in the suicide note, which alleged that extraneous considerations influenced the SC’s July 2016 judgment.The CJI had ordered the letter to be listed as a writ petition before a bench of Justices A K Goel and U U Lalit.At the high-wattage hearing on Thursday with the CJI at its centre, Dangwimsai’s counsel Dushyant Dave made the sensational claim that a former SC judge had approached him on Khehar’s behalf. He also questioned the decision to turn the letter into a writ petition to be disposed of by the SC when his client had sought an administrative inquiry, as also the choice of Justices Goel and Lalit to hear the petitionDangwimsai’s letter cited the SC’s 1991 judgment in the Veeraswami case where the apex court had ruled that SC and HC judges could be probed for corruption but only with the prior permission of the CJI.The Constitution bench ruling had also said, “If the Chief Justice of India himself is the person against whom the allegations of criminal misconduct are received, the government shall consult any other judge or judges of the Supreme Court.”Dangwimsai’s letter had said, “I am sure you (the CJI) will have the matter placed before the appropriate judge in accordance with the judgment in the Veeraswami case for consideration of my request.”Dave raised a series of questions and levelled many allegations. “Why was Dangwimsai’s letter converted into a criminal writ petition? Why was it put up for hearing in open court for a judicial decision when the CJI was expected to take a decision on the administrative side? Is the CJI precluded from taking a decision on the letter as the allegations in the suicide note concerned the CJI’s son?” Dave asked.“We had sought an administrative direction, why was it taken on the judicial side? We want to know the reason behind it. There was a development on Monday evening. A former judge of the Supreme Court met me on behalf of the CJI. I do not want to say more. I beg your lordships to stay away from this case,” Dave urged the bench of Justices Goel and Lalit.Initially, Dave gave the impression that he was totally against the letter being put up for hearing in open court. Later, he wanted to know if it was to be put up for hearing, then why before a bench headed by a junior judge like Justice Goel, who is number 13 in seniority among the 28 SC judges.“This letter brings forth a more serious issue than the one raised by Calcutta HC’s Justice C S Karnan, which is being heard by a five-judge bench. So, why was a five-judge bench not constituted for this case? Why has it been assigned to a junior judge and not to number three (Justice J Chelameswar) or number four (Justice Ranjan Gogoi) or number five (Justice Madan Lokur)?” Dave asked.When the bench appeared determined to proceed with the hearing, Dave said, “You (Justice Goel) were a colleague of the CJI in Punjab and Haryana HC. You should recuse yourself.” Finally, Dave said his client (Dangwimsai) wanted to withdraw the letter to explore other avenues.“We will now approach the vice-president for relief as the suicide note contains allegations against the President also. If the Supreme Court decides on the letter after converting it into a writ petition, then all other avenues for remedies will be closed,” Dave said. The bench permitted Dangwimsai to withdraw the letter and said the withdrawal would mean that the cause of action initiated by the widow in writing to the CJI had ended.