New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, an 11-judge bench of the Patna high court on Thursday “suspended” an order passed by a single judge which was critical of the judiciary.
The bench, led by Chief Justice A.P. Sahi, held that the order passed Wednesday was an “attack on judicial hierarchy, judicial integrity and majesty of the court”, according to Advocate General of Bihar Lalit Kishor.
“Justice Rakesh Kumar had, in his detailed order passed yesterday, expressed his concerns over alleged casteism and corruption in the high court and the entire judicial system. He had also made some adverse remarks against judges who have retired or passed away,” Kishor said here.
“Taking a serious note of the matter, Chief Justice A.P. Sahi constituted a bench comprising 11 judges which today took a grim view of the single judge order and suspended it observing that it was tantamount to an attack on judicial hierarchy, judicial integrity and majesty of the court,” he said.
“The bench also ruled that the contents of the single judge order shall not be communicated anywhere” and that “the order of the 11-judge bench will be kept with the chief justice on the administrative side for further line of action”, he added.
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Justice Kumar had passed the order while taking suo motu cognisance of bail granted to retired IAS officer K.P. Ramaiah by a vigilance court in Patna, a year after he had turned down the anticipatory bail plea of the former bureaucrat, who is an accused in a corruption case.
“Grant of bail or refusal of bail is at the complete discretion of the court, but if the manner in which an accused is granted bail raises finger against the judiciary, this Court is entitled to examine exercising its supervisory power as to whether it was done judiciously or due to some extraneous consideration,” Justice Kumar had said.
Earlier, a notice was published in the court’s registry on behalf of the Chief Justice stating “all the matters pending before Justice Rakesh Kumar, sitting singly including tied up/part heard or otherwise stand withdrawn with immediate effect”.
“All the matters pertaining to the judge, including tied up/part-heard or otherwise, stand withdrawn with immediate effect. The registrar will implement the order forthwith subject to further orders with regard to the formation of the bench,” the Patna high court chief justice said in an order on Wednesday, according to Hindustan Times.
(With PTI inputs)