‘Are you waiting for me to retire? CJI Gavai raps govt

Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai on Thursday took strong exception to the Union government seeking yet another adjournmentin the hearing on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Tribunal Reforms Act, remarking that the Centre appeared to want the case heard only after he demitted office on November 23.

- Utkarsh Anand

The matter concerns appointments to key tribunals, with the debate being over whether or not existing appointment norms give these the independence they need to have from the executive.

When Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati mentioned the matter and sought to defer Friday's hearing citing Attorney General R Venkataramani”s engagement in an international arbitration, the CJI's response was blunt.

“If you do not want us to hear and deliver the judgment, just tell us. Looks like you want this matter only after November 24,” CJI Gayai told Bhati. “We have accommodated the Attorney General thrice but we keep hearing that he is busy in international arbitration. You have a fleet of learned ASGs. Let somebody else argue this matter,” Justice Gavai added.

Bhati said the Attorney General was personally conducting the case, prompting the bench to note that he had not appeared despite three rounds of adjournments. “The practice in high courtsis that if a matter is part-heard, the lawyers must complete those matters first. Here, we have adjourned this matter three times on similar requests but he is still not here,” the CJl observed.