SC irked over 'judicial impropriety', raps senior lawyers for 'playing fraud'

Irked over "judicial impropriety" by some senior advocates in taking relief from its vacation benches by suppressing facts, the Supreme Court Friday blasted them for "playing fraud" upon it.

Terming this practice as "the height of judicial misconduct", a bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Navin Sinha said senior advocates were "not above the law" and such conduct reflected that "no morality" is left in some of them.

It also took exception to the passing of order by the vacation bench, which had stayed the demolition of some buildings in Kerala for six weeks.

Hearing the matter earlier, a bench headed by Justice Mishra had directed on May 8 that these buildings be removed within a month as they were constructed in the notified Coastal Regulations Zones (CRZ), which is part of the tidally influenced water body in Kerala.

When the matter came up for hearing on Friday, the bench said it has "serious objection" to what has happened in the case as "height of judicial impropriety has been done".

"During the vacation, the matter was mentioned before me but I refused to hear it. Then it came before another vacation bench. That bench should not have passed the order. You (lawyers) are permitting the court to commit judicial impropriety," the bench told senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, who is also a Lok Sabha MP from All India Trinamool Congress.

Banerjee was appearing for the petitioner in the matter.

"Should we draw contempt against senior advocates of this court? It is height of judicial misconduct. During vacation, I declined to hear then you people obtained orders from different bench by suppressing the facts," Justice Mishra said.

Banerjee told the court that he had not appeared in the matter before the vacation bench.

"It is height of judicial impropriety. You took stay from a different vacation bench. You (senior lawyers) are not above the law. You are playing fraud with the Supreme Court," Justice Mishra said, adding, "You are scandalising the court"