The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on a petitioner for seeking an investigation into the decision of Karnataka High Court judge Justice M Nagaprasanna to recuse from three matters.
The Bench of Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Augustine George Masih observed that the Court could not probe the discretion of the judge as it would send wrong signals.
Filed by Advocate Vishal Arun Mishra, the petition sought guidelines governing the recusal of judges and a probe into the recusal of Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court in three separate matters.
The judge had allegedly recused after reserving orders in one of the petitions, which sought registration of criminal complaints against the wife and son of the present Karnataka State Lokayukta. This petition further sought a Court-monitored probe into the corruption allegations.
The top court of the country observed during the hearing that the plea against Justice Nagaprasanna’s recusal was filed in an oblique manner and questioned the motivations behind it.
Calling the petition inappropriate, the Apex Court said seeking guidelines was fine, but the petitioner could not seek probe in under what circumstances did the judge recused.
There was no need to put allegations against all private parties and cast aspersions against the judges, noted the Bench, adding that the manner of filing this petition was highly objectionable.
It asked the petitioner whether he thought that judges were so that the Lokayukta could influence judicial outcomes.
The Court further expressed its prima facie dissatisfaction with the grounds in the plea and said that it could not probe the discretion of the High Court judge.
The Bench allowed the withdrawal of the plea but made it clear that the petition contained several objectionable points. It further clarified that it had not adjudicated on whether it would be appropriate to lay down any guidelines for recusal.