Rare confrontation over 'circumvention' of SC order

A courtroom in the Supreme Court on Tuesday witnessed a rare confrontation between the bench and bar leaders after a two-judge bench warned an advocate-on-record (AoR) of contempt proceedings for allegedly abusing the legal process.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

The representatives of the bar contended that the order dictated by a bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma was "preconceived" and "unacceptable", but the bench maintained that the lawyers in district and high courts are "far more responsible" than those practising in the Supreme Court.

The bench was hearing a case involving a petitioner who, despite an earlier Supreme Court order mandating their surrender within two weeks, had filed a fresh petition seeking the same relief. The bench took strong exception to what it described as an attempt by the lawyers associated with the matter to mislead the court and circumvent judicial orders.