Alok Singh
The Supreme Court, on its November 25, 2024 order in Dushyant Mainali v. Diwan Singh Bora & Anr., expunged the adverse remarks made by the Uttarakhand High Court judge, Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma, against a lawyer in an order passed in 2022.
The appeal was considered by a Bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan. They disapproved of the unfavourable comments against the appellant, Mr Dushyant Mainali, a practising lawyer, noting that he was neither directly involved in the case nor had any indirect connection to it.
The Court emphasised adherence to ‘principles of natural justice’, asserting that no individual should be condemned unheard. The remarks made without allowing him to be heard were deemed unsustainable in law.
“There is no necessity to reiterate that even the Courts, including a highest court of the Country, are bound by principle of natural justice. Nobody can be condemned unheard”, the court observed.
The Supreme Court directed deleting the adverse comments, including directions to the Bar Council of Uttarakhand to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the appellant.
The Supreme Court observed a recurring tendency by the same judge to make similar remarks in prior cases, such as Neeraj Garg v. Sarita Rani and Ors. and Siddhartha Singh v. Assistant Collector First Class/Sub Divisional Magistrate & Ors., considering such actions as improper uses of judicial discretion.
These observations serve as a reminder of the importance of natural justice and the need for judicial remarks to be grounded in evidence and procedure.
Case Name: Dushyant Mainali v. Diwan Singh Bora & Anr.
Case Number: Civil Appeal No. of 2024 (Arising out of SLP(C) No.15191 of 2022)
Bench: Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan