The week at Supreme Court of India was rather uneventful till the final working day when the Uttarakhand High Court’s decision on Presidential proclamation was challenged..The challenge got the nation’s attention, with the Central government sought seeking a stay on the Uttarakhand High Court judgment. Though a stay has not been granted, the judgment has been “kept in abeyance” till April 27..Below is a recap of the important events at Supreme Court this past week..April 18.Senior designations by Supreme Court on hold.Chief Justice of India TS Thakur made it clear that the Supreme Court will not have any lawyer designated as Senior Advocate until the petition filed by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising challenging the designation procedure is finally decided..The matter was mentioned by Jaising seeking early hearing. Chief Justice Thakur said that the matter would be heard in the final week of July..“In the meantime, rest assured nothing will happen. No senior designation will be conferred on any advocate till then”, he said..However, applications made by retired High Court judges would be considered by the court; the restriction is only with respect to applications made by advocates..April 19.25 lac costs on “rich and powerful litigants”.The Court imposed costs of 25 lac on three parties for “abuse of judicial process”. The parties includes a German company Messer Griesham GmbH (MGG) besides another company Goyal Gases Limited (GGL) and a group of persons known as Ruias..The judgment was rendered by Justices Jasti Chelameswar and AM Sapre in a dispute originating in the purchase of shares by GmbH and the objection to the same by Goyal Gases. A maze of litigation ensued for 18 years culminating in this judgment by the Supreme Court..The Court came down upon the “rich and powerful” for wasting the time of the Court under Article 136, time which it felt could have been spent on more deserving cases..“This case should also serve as proof of the abuse of the discretionary Jurisdiction of this Court under Article 136 by the rich and powerful in the name of a ‘fight for justice’ at each and every interlocutory step of a suit. Enormous amount of judicial time of this Court and two High Courts was spent on this litigation. Most of it is avoidable and could have been well spent on more deserving cases”, the Court said in it its judgment..April 22.Uttarakhand HC judgment on Presidential proclamation kept in “abeyance”.On April 21, the Uttarakhand High Court quashed the Presidential proclamation in the State dealing a blow to the Central government..The Centre wasted no time in moving the Supreme Court and April 22, consequently, turned out to be one of the most eventful days this year..The petition was filed just before 10.30 am. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter at 10. 30 but was asked to approach the Registry for listing the case since the Chief Justice was not sitting on that day..Subsequently, the case was listed for 3.30 pm and the parties were heard for over an hour before the Court decided to keep the judgment of the High Court in abeyance till April 27. The case will now be heard on April 27.
The week at Supreme Court of India was rather uneventful till the final working day when the Uttarakhand High Court’s decision on Presidential proclamation was challenged..The challenge got the nation’s attention, with the Central government sought seeking a stay on the Uttarakhand High Court judgment. Though a stay has not been granted, the judgment has been “kept in abeyance” till April 27..Below is a recap of the important events at Supreme Court this past week..April 18.Senior designations by Supreme Court on hold.Chief Justice of India TS Thakur made it clear that the Supreme Court will not have any lawyer designated as Senior Advocate until the petition filed by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising challenging the designation procedure is finally decided..The matter was mentioned by Jaising seeking early hearing. Chief Justice Thakur said that the matter would be heard in the final week of July..“In the meantime, rest assured nothing will happen. No senior designation will be conferred on any advocate till then”, he said..However, applications made by retired High Court judges would be considered by the court; the restriction is only with respect to applications made by advocates..April 19.25 lac costs on “rich and powerful litigants”.The Court imposed costs of 25 lac on three parties for “abuse of judicial process”. The parties includes a German company Messer Griesham GmbH (MGG) besides another company Goyal Gases Limited (GGL) and a group of persons known as Ruias..The judgment was rendered by Justices Jasti Chelameswar and AM Sapre in a dispute originating in the purchase of shares by GmbH and the objection to the same by Goyal Gases. A maze of litigation ensued for 18 years culminating in this judgment by the Supreme Court..The Court came down upon the “rich and powerful” for wasting the time of the Court under Article 136, time which it felt could have been spent on more deserving cases..“This case should also serve as proof of the abuse of the discretionary Jurisdiction of this Court under Article 136 by the rich and powerful in the name of a ‘fight for justice’ at each and every interlocutory step of a suit. Enormous amount of judicial time of this Court and two High Courts was spent on this litigation. Most of it is avoidable and could have been well spent on more deserving cases”, the Court said in it its judgment..April 22.Uttarakhand HC judgment on Presidential proclamation kept in “abeyance”.On April 21, the Uttarakhand High Court quashed the Presidential proclamation in the State dealing a blow to the Central government..The Centre wasted no time in moving the Supreme Court and April 22, consequently, turned out to be one of the most eventful days this year..The petition was filed just before 10.30 am. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter at 10. 30 but was asked to approach the Registry for listing the case since the Chief Justice was not sitting on that day..Subsequently, the case was listed for 3.30 pm and the parties were heard for over an hour before the Court decided to keep the judgment of the High Court in abeyance till April 27. The case will now be heard on April 27.