The Supreme Court has taken strong exception to the tendency among litigants to attach opinions by former apex court judges to their PILs in a bid to bolster their claim.<\/p>\n
The bench voiced its disapproval with: “If we can’t honour this court, who will do it?”<\/p>\n
The court had taken objection to former judges rendering their opinion on the subject during the hearing of a PIL by Grenadiers Association (Rohtak Chapter) on the date of birth controversy of Army Chief General VKSingh.<\/p>\n
Chief Justice SH Kapadia did not take kindly to the petitioner, Grenadiers Association (Rohtak Chapter) annexing the opinion of four former CJIs – Justice JS Verma, Justice GB Pattanaik, Justice VN Khare and Justice RC Lahoti – to its petition to back its cause.<\/p>\n
Chief Justice Kapadia was so peeved at the opinions being annexed – despite a disclaimer from the former CJIs that they were not to be used in any court proceedings – that he directed the apex court registry not to accept any writ petitions in future if they had such documents annexed.<\/p>\n
The registry, the court’s executive wing, was asked to raise objections and not accept a writ petition till such documents were withdrawn. Chief Justice Kapadia said the apex court “registry will carry out this direction in all the matters”.<\/p>\n
In another case, the court aired its “despair and anguish” in the course of the hearing of a contempt petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) against a manufacturer of pan masala and chewing tobacco for using plastic sachets despite a ban by the apex court.<\/p>\n
Justice Ganguly expressed his disgust when he found that the opinion of a former CJI, on what constitutes a sachet, was attached in a pending matter in the case.<\/p>\n
The opinion, given on the letter head of a former CJI, said that any packet which had less than half a gram tobacco or four grams of pan masala and was meant for one time use was a sachet.<\/p>\n
However, a bigger packet, meant for multiple use, would not technically be a sachet but a pouch.<\/p>\n
This enabled the litigant to circumvent the court ban against use of plastic in packaging.<\/p>\n
The opinion was procured by the Dharam Pal Satya Pal Group manufacturing Rajnigandha pan masala and Tulsi chewing tobacco and was annexed with their affidavit in response to a contempt notice by the apex court.<\/p>\n
Justice TS Thakur observed that the “opinion should have said that it could not be used in any court”, which was not done in this case.<\/p>\n
He said this when the chewing tobacco manufacturer told the court that the use of plastic in pouches was not wilful and tendered an apology.<\/p>\n
Expressing their displeasure, Justice Ganguly observed: “In this country no value is attached to the question of the honour of this court.”<\/p>\n
“Everything melts before money,” Justice Ganguly observed. “If we can’t honour this court, who will?”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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