MCI Senior advocate Vikas Singh accuses CJAR of scandalising judiciary

New Delhi: Senior lawyer and SCBA president Vikas Singh alleged that a group of activists under the banner of CJAR was trying to "scandalise the judiciary" by levelling "false charges" against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in connection with a medical college bribery case.

In a letter to Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri, the senior advocate, in his personal capacity, condemned the conduct of Campaign for Judical Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) in filing a complaint with them accusing the CJI of alleged misconduct in the case related to Prasad Education Trust.

Singh, who had represented Medical Council of India (MCI) in these cases, has said in his letter that he was "quite confident" that there was no wrong doing by the apex court while dealing with them.

CJAR's convenor and advocate Prashant Bhushan had yesterday held a press conference in which he had informed that the body has handed over a complaint against the CJI to the five senior most Supreme Court judges.

In the complaint, he has repeated all the allegations the CJAR had raised in its PIL which was dismissed last year by the apex court with an exemplary cost of Rs 25 lakh.

In his letter, Singh said, "I was the counsel for the MCI in the matter of Prasad Education Trust and I am quite confident that there was no wrong doing by the Supreme Court while dealing with the said matter".

He referred to a statement made in the complaint and termed it as "complete falsehood" saying similar orders were passed in five matters of medical colleges listed on September 18, 2017 by a bench headed by the CJI.

"The entire complaint revolves on this falsehood that if the facts were to be put in perspective, there could be no question of any wrong-doing in the matter and the complaint by CJAR is an attempt to scandalise the judiciary and hence the complainant needs to be charged with criminal contempt," he said in the letter.

Singh said that the alleged conversation between middlemen cannot in any manner "attribute any wrongdoing on the part of the judges hearing the matter".

The apex court had dismissed the plea of CJAR for special investigation team (SIT) probe into the bribery case in which the CBI filed an FIR against ex-judge of Orissa high court I M Quddusi.

Quddusi and a few others were arrested in the case related to Prasad Education Trust by the CBI and later granted bail by a court.

Referring to the in-house procedure to deal with the complaints against judges of the apex court and high courts, CJAR's convenor and advocate Prashant Bhushan had yesterday said they have to be sent to the CJI but no procedure has been laid down for enquiring into a complaint against the head of the judiciary.

The complaint was sent to the four judges who have mounted a virtual revolt against the CJI. It was also sent to Justice Sikri.

The four dissenting judges were Justices Chelameswar, Gogoi, Lokur and Joseph.

Bhushan had alleged that from the recorded conversation of the accused, including Quddusi, it was clear that there was a serious conspiracy of bribe in the medical college case.

However, he had clarified that he was not alleging that the CJI was involved in the conspiracy and said that a thorough investigation was required in it.