CJI Upset After Bar Bodies Skip Farewell For Justice Bela Trivedi

Chief Justice of India BR Gavai made public his disapproval of the decision of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) to skip the customary farewell function organised in honour of a retiring judge as the Supreme Court, on Friday, bid farewell to Justice Bela M Trivedi.

- Abraham Thomas

NEW DELHI:

"The stand taken by the Association, I must deprecate openly as I believe in being plain and straight. On such occasions, such a stand ought not to have been taken by the Association," he said.

Justice Trivedi, who is widely seen as conservative in matters related to granting relief, such as bail, has attracted the ire of the two bar bodies over several decisions that they saw as targeting lawyers. This likely includes a decision last year by Justice Trivedi when she ordered an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the filing of a petition based on forged documents. It also likely includes a judgment by her recently that refused to record the presence of all lawyers appearing in a case; the SCBA and SCAORA filed a petition challenging the decision. And in April, she punished a lawyer for suppressing information in a petition filed before the court despite his unconditional apology. She suspended him as an Advocate-on-record for a month but the other judge on the bench differed and let him go on account of his apology.

But CJI Gavai endorsed her work. "She has always been fair, known for her hard work, integrity... Justice Trivedi, you have been a valuable asset for our judiciary, as you embark on a new journey, I wish you all the best," he said.