Supreme Court advocates object to PP Rao’s appointment in Lokpal selection panel, writes to the President

Sixty seven lawyers of the Supreme Court have made a representation to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee seeking reconsideration of Senior Counsel PP Rao’s appointment as an “eminent Jurist” in the Lokpal selection panel..In a letter dated February 10, they have accused Rao of having “a regionalist and biased mindset” due to whom a “lot of unfortunate events took place in the history of the Supreme Court Bar Association in the year 2012 and peace and harmony among the members of the Supreme Court Bar Association was completely disturbed.”.The letter has cited, inter alia, Rao’s arguments in the case of Supreme Court Bar Association v. BD Kaushik, and his allegedly prejudiced conduct in the case of P Dinakaran v. Judges Inquiry Committee..Indicting Rao of a “biased mindset unbecoming of a Senior Advocate”, the letter has also referred to the case of ES Reddi v. Chief Secretary, Govt. of AP & Ors. in which the Supreme Court had observed that,.“We wish we could have rested content with concluding the judgment with the operative portion of our conclusions on the merits of the case but we find with a sense of anguish and heaviness of heart that we have to express our disapproval of the manner in which the arguments were advanced before us on behalf of the applicant TV Choudhary.Not only were the arguments advanced with undue vehemence and unwarranted passion, reflecting identification of interest beyond established conventions but were of degrees not usual of enlightened senior counsel to adopt. The majesty of law and the dignity of courts cannot be maintained unless there is mutual respect between the Bench and the Bar and the counsel act in full realisation of their duty to the Court alongside their duty to their clients and have the grace to reconcile themselves when their pleas and arguments do not find acceptance with the Court.”.Pointing out that Rao was expelled from the Supreme Court Bar Association in 2012 due to his regional and biased attitude and his name was dropped by the Central government for the post of Attorney General because of the same reason, the signatories have requested the President to reconsider Rao’s name as “Eminent Jurist” for the Lokpal Selection Panel..You can read the letter below..Image taken from here..Supreme Court Lawyers Representation to the President of India