Ex-CJI denies allegations by Gujarat HC CJ

Former CJI Altamas Kabir today rejected allegations that he had scuttled Gujarat High Court Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya's elevation to the Supreme Court and that he had tried to push the candidature of another High Court judge before his term was to end.
He dismissed a charge that he had acted against Justice Bhattacharya as the latter had opposed the elevation of his sister as Calcutta High Court judge.
In a press statement, Justice Kabir, who demitted office on July 18, also denied another charge that he favoured Sahara group in its battle against SEBI on refunding Rs 24,000 crore to investors.

Breaking his silence on the controversy, he accused Bhattacharya of making "insensitive" references about his sister.
He told the Gujarat HC Chief Justice that he should know that the collegium of judges have their procedure for choosing a judge and that he had recused from meetings held to decide on his sister.
"As a former member of the collegium in the Calcutta High Court and as a Chief Justice of the state of Gujarat, you are fully aware how the collegium functions and how decisions are taken by the collegium.
"The views of one of the members of the collegium, not even that of the chief justice, has any impact on the ultimate decision that is taken. In your case, the matter was before a collegium consisting of five judges, who took a unanimous decision. The decision was a collective decision and not that of an individual, as you seem to impute," he said.