M3M case to come up before Justice Kaul today

More than a fortnight after Chief Justice Sheel Nagu “in all fairness” recused himself from hearing the petition filed by M3M group director Roop Bansal, the case is scheduled to come up for resumed hearing on Tuesday before Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul, once again.

The case was originally filed sometime in January and was listed for the first time before Justice NS Shekhawat, who was holding “the roster of matters pertaining to Prevention of Corruption Act qua State of Haryana.”

Chief Justice Nagu, in a previous order, observed that Justice Shekhawat recused himself on January 14, following which the case was listed on February 13 before Justice Kaul in accordance with the standing instructions in the prevailing roster. The case was, on that date, dismissed as withdrawn at the request of the petitioner’s counsel.

“Thereafter on April 7, the present plea was filed by petitioner represented by JK Singla, advocate, whose cases are not listed before Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul. Resultantly, this case was placed before Chief Justice on administrative side, who nominated this case to the senior most among the criminal Single Benches – Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu,” Chief Justice Nagu asserted.

The case drew attention after the Chief Justice, acting on oral and written complaints, took the unusual step of requisitioning the case record from Justice Sindhu, who had heard the matter and reserved the verdict.

Chief Justice Nagu passed an administrative order in this regard and the matter was then listed before him for hearing. But the Chief Justice on July 3 asserted: “In all fairness, I will allot this case to some other Bench for hearing.”

The assertion came after Chief Justice Nagu raised, on his own motion, the issue of deciding the matter judicially when he had earlier dealt with it administratively. Bansal, among other things, was seeking the quashing of an FIR registered under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. His counsel, during the course of arguments, had pointed out that the allegations against him were that he conspired with a judge to get benefits. “There is a judgment in the same proceedings by a special anti-corruption judge — PMLA judge Panchkula, which notes that that judge had no cases of M3M group pending before him and none were dealt with him in his capacity till April 17, 2023…”