Supreme Court Bar Association President and senior advocate Dushyant Dave has raised the concern over the extraordinary urgent listings by the Supreme Court Registry and also raised the questions on the top court’s integrity on extending preferential treatment to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in 2018 abetment to suicide case.
In the letter written to the Secretary-General of Supreme Court, Dave has asked whether the special treatment is given on the behest of Chief Justice of India, S A Bobde.
Dave wrote the letter after the apex court agreed to hear Arnab Goswami’s plea challenging the Bombay High Court order rejecting his interim bail plea. The top court bench comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indira Banerjee will hear his plea today.
Dushyant Dave, in his letter wrote, “I have nothing personal against Mr Goswami and I am not writing this letter to anyway interfere in with his rights to move the Supreme Court. Like all Citizens, he also has the right to seek justice from the highest court. The serious issue here is a selective listing of matters that the Registry under your leadership is indulging in for the last eight months during Covid pandemic. While thousands of Citizens remain in jails, languishing for long periods while their matters before the Hon’ble Supreme Court are not getting listed for weeks and months, it is, to say the least, deeply disturbing as to how and why every time Mr Goswami approaches the Supreme Court, his matter gets listed instantly.”
He further added, “Likes of Shri Goswami get special treatment while ordinary Indians are made to suffer, including Imprisonment, which are many times illegal and unauthorised. Even someone like Mr P Chidambaram, a respected Senior Advocate, could not get similar speed listing and had to spend long months in jail till finally, the Hon’ble Supreme Court declares that he deserved to be Bailed out.”
Dave has called it a gross abuse of administrative power and stated, “Why is this selective listing taking place when system is supposedly computerised and is to work automatically? Why is It that despite the same, matters are getting circulated and that too before only few Hon’ble Benches? Why is there no foolproof system to be just and fair to all Citizens and all AORs.”
Arnab Goswami was arrested on November 4 and in a 2018 abetment to a suicide case of Anvay Naik and his mother. Two other accused were also arrested. He is sent to 14 days of judicial custody by the CJM court of Alibaug. Goswami was shifted to Taloja jail on Sunday when he was alleged of using a mobile phone in judicial custody.
