Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday came down heavily on President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Vikas Singh for repeated insistence on listing of the petition that sought a direction to the Ministry of Urban Development to convert the entire land measuring 1.33 acres that was allotted to the Supreme Court into chamber blocks for lawyers.
Senior Advocate Singh repeatedly insisted on urgent listing of the plea before a Bench led by the CJI, contending that the matter had not been listed for six previous hearings and the same happened today as well.
The CJI told Singh that it would be listed in the ordinary course, however, the SCBA chief threatened to escalate the matter and even suggested visiting the residence of the CJI over the same.
Justice Chandrachud then raised his voice and ordered Singh to leave the court immediately. He asserted that the Senior Advocate could not expect the Bench to be cowered down.
The CJI further said that he had never let himself be browbeaten by the Bar and would not let this happen in the final two years of his career. He then told Singh to pursue his ‘political agendas’ outside the court hall.
He further reminded Singh that the SCBA chief was asking for land allotted to the Supreme Court to be given to lawyers under Article 32. Justice Chandrachud then announced that the matter would be listed on March 17, but not as item one.
Soon after the incident, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Neeraj Kishan Kaul expressed regret over the heated exchange.
Sibal, who appeared before the Bench in another matter, apologised for Singh’s behaviour. He said he was sorry for what happened this morning, adding that the Bar should not transgress the limits of decorum.
The judges then shared that they hear over 70 mentionings every day. The CJI said that after hearing these mentionings, the Bench would sit though the evenings and give dates.
Senior Advocate Kaul said the Bar jointly apologised for the incident. He said the Bar was very very sad. It felt equally anguished and hurt by what happened in the morning, he added.