The Hindu takes down report on Jammu & Kashmir High Court roster change after Court slams newspaper

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Tuesday took serious exception to a news report published by The Hindu newspaper which said that Justice Atul Sreedharan had gone on leave after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act cases and Habeas Corpus matters were shifted from the bench headed by him [Syed Meirajul Yasin vs Union of India]..A Division Bench comprising Justice Sreedharan himself and Justice Mohmmad Yousuf Wani asked the Registrar Judicial to place the matter before Acting Chief Justice to consider whether criminal contempt proceedings should be initiated against the publishers.The Court said the news report that the roster was changed midway was “false, malicious and contemptuous” and the same amounted to interference with the administration of justice.“This Court is also disturbed by the incorrect factual aspect given in the social media post and also in the newspaper that one of us (Atul Sreedharan-J) had gone on leave on account of the change in roster which is patently untrue as the said Judge had taken a casual leave on 02.09.2024 on account of medical reasons,” it further said.A digital version of the news report was taken down by The Hindu this afternoon after the court order became public..The Hindu in the news report published on Monday had called the roster change unprecedented.“Justice Sreedharan is known for his incisive observations and bold directions. The judge in several cases picked up holes in the investigation and reprimanded the investigating agency. He was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh in April, 2023,” the report said. .However, the Bench in the order passed on September 3 clarified the position on the roster change. It referred to the material placed before it by the Registrar General with regard to the decision taken on August 30.It said the NIA and Habeas Corpus matters by way of order passed on August 30 were placed before a Special Bench comprising Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Mohd Akram Chowdhary to expedite the cases as “the NIA matters were considered as separate as same being a matter of liberty and concern for the security of the Country and in view of the sensitivity involved in these matter, the NIA matters were treated as as separate subject matters so that these matters be dealt speedily and expeditiously”..The bench said that such misrepresentation by media not only misleads the public but also damages trust in the judiciary. “The reasons given in the social media post as to why one of us (Atul Sreedharan-J) had gone on leave gives an impression that the said Judge went on a protest leave against a change in roster. This also gives an impression that the said judge is interested in getting certain cases of a particular type listed before him and decided. Such is a wrong and probable inference which flows from the article in the social media and also as published in the newspaper of the “The Hindu”,” the Court said..[Read Order]