Chief Justice of India UU Lalit on Friday asked for a petition by BS Yediyurappa to be listed before a bench where he isn't a member.
Published Oct 14, 2022 | 4:46 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 14, 2022 | 4:46 PM
Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. File Photo. (X)
Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit on Friday, 14 October, recused himself from hearing a petition filed by former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa.
The BJP leader and member of its Central Parliamentary Board, and incumbent minister for Industries in Karnataka Murugesh Nirani, had approached the apex court challenging a Karnataka High Court order restoring a criminal case against them in an illegal land denotification case.
The petition came up before a bench led by CJI.
“I can’t take this matter. List it before a bench where I am not a member. I have some difficulty, I can’t take this matter,” CJI UU Lalit is reported to have said on Friday.
While it is not uncommon for judges to rescue themselves from cases, the CJI recusing himself from the case caught attention.
While there are no formal rules governing the process of recusal, the decision ultimately lies with the judges themselves.
In general, Judges recuse themselves from hearing or presiding over a case when there is conflict of interest. Conflict of interest can extend from prior personal association, appearing as counsel for petitioners in the past. etc.
While CJI UU Lalit didn’t list out any reason, he specifically asked for the petition to be listed before a bench that he wasn’t a member of.
The reason perhaps lies in the fact that Justice Lalit, as a senior counselor in the past, has represented Yediyurappa. As senior counsel, he has also represented former BJP leader Gali Janardhana Reddy.
He had defended Yediyurappa and Reddy in the infamous illegal mining case in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, multiple times.
In 2011, advocate GR Mohan had complained to the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court against then senior counsel UU Lalit.
Seeking an inquiry against UU Lalit for “dishonouring SC conditions”, Mohan had alleged that despite being a Supreme Court-appointed public prosecutor in the 2G scam, then advocate Lalit had been missing 2G case trials and, instead, appearing as counsel for Yediyurappa and Reddy to defend them in corruption cases.
In 2014, CJI Lalit, as counsel, had represented Yediyurappa in the same Supreme Court. Yediyurappa had availed Lalit’s services to argue his petition seeking to quash proceedings against him before the Lokayukta court over allegations of irregularities in mining.
