The Supreme Court today dismissed the petition challenging the appointment of the Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court, Justice RK Gautam..The petition making allegations of corruption against the Additional Judge appointed earlier this year was being heard by the Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri..After Justice Sikri retired, the matter got listed before the Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta. This Bench today refused to entertain the plea..The petitioner was represented by Senior Counsel Vikas Singh, who pressed for the matter to be considered, but to no avail..Filed by Progressive Lawyers Association Civil Court, the petition alleged misconduct and corruption on the part of Justice RK Gautam. He was a District Judge in Meerut in 2015-16, when a complaint was made against him by the petitioner before then Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court DY Chandrachud. .The complaint had made several allegations against Gautam J. including his alleged involvement in a racket to secure acquittals for heinous crimes, his close proximity to persons accused of grave crimes like rape and kidnapping, his alleged failure to report corruption to the High Court, etc..Upon receipt of this complaint, Chandrachud J had ordered a discreet Vigilance Inquiry into these allegations. The inquiry was conducted by OSD Vigilance, Anil Kumar Shrivastav. Pending the inquiry, Chandrachud J was elevated to the Supreme Court, following which, the petitioner claims, Shrivastav colluded with Gautam J and gave him a clean chit in his inquiry report..This report was challenged on the judicial side. The Allahabad High Court dismissed the same, on the ground that the complaint was not supported by an affidavit. The report was then challenged before the Supreme Court. However, while these proceedings were pending, Gautam J. was recommended for elevation to the High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium..While hearing the petition in December last year, the Supreme Court had asked for a consolidated list of charges and allegations against Justice Gautam..[Read Order]
The Supreme Court today dismissed the petition challenging the appointment of the Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court, Justice RK Gautam..The petition making allegations of corruption against the Additional Judge appointed earlier this year was being heard by the Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri..After Justice Sikri retired, the matter got listed before the Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta. This Bench today refused to entertain the plea..The petitioner was represented by Senior Counsel Vikas Singh, who pressed for the matter to be considered, but to no avail..Filed by Progressive Lawyers Association Civil Court, the petition alleged misconduct and corruption on the part of Justice RK Gautam. He was a District Judge in Meerut in 2015-16, when a complaint was made against him by the petitioner before then Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court DY Chandrachud. .The complaint had made several allegations against Gautam J. including his alleged involvement in a racket to secure acquittals for heinous crimes, his close proximity to persons accused of grave crimes like rape and kidnapping, his alleged failure to report corruption to the High Court, etc..Upon receipt of this complaint, Chandrachud J had ordered a discreet Vigilance Inquiry into these allegations. The inquiry was conducted by OSD Vigilance, Anil Kumar Shrivastav. Pending the inquiry, Chandrachud J was elevated to the Supreme Court, following which, the petitioner claims, Shrivastav colluded with Gautam J and gave him a clean chit in his inquiry report..This report was challenged on the judicial side. The Allahabad High Court dismissed the same, on the ground that the complaint was not supported by an affidavit. The report was then challenged before the Supreme Court. However, while these proceedings were pending, Gautam J. was recommended for elevation to the High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium..While hearing the petition in December last year, the Supreme Court had asked for a consolidated list of charges and allegations against Justice Gautam..[Read Order]
