A petition filed in the Supreme Court has sought the withdrawal of Dushyant Dave’s status as a senior advocate for his arguments on sexual harassment charges against former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Ayodhya and Rafale verdict last week.
Dave had earned plaudits for making incredibly bold arguments while appearing for Prashant Bhushan in a contempt case.
Plea in Supreme Court says arguments by Dushyant Dave on sexual harassment charges against Ranjan Gogoi J, Ayodhya, Rafale judgments were unconnected to contempt case of Prashant Bhushan; Seeks withdrawal of Dave’s senior gown.
— Murali Krishnan (@legaljournalist) August 10, 2020
Dave had drawn the court’s attention to several high-profile politically sensitive judgments where the judiciary had seemingly let itself down. Referring to Gogoi, he had asked what impression the former CJI created for the judiciary by accepting a Rajya Sabha nomination and Z plus security cover after his judgments favoured the central government in several cases such as Rafale, Ayodhya and the CBI.
Dave told the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari, “You get Rajya Sabha seat and Z plus security.. What impression does it give.. Rafale judgment, Ayodhya judgment, CBI judgment. You give these judgments and have these benefits. These are all serious issues that strike at the core of the judiciary.”
Dave: You get Rajya Sabha seat and Z plus security..
What impression does it give.. Rafale judgement, #Ayodhya judgement, CBI judgement.
You give these judgements and have these benefits. These are all serious issues that strike at the core of the judiciary.#RanjanGogoi— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) August 5, 2020
The latest petition seeking the withdrawal of Dave’s status as a senior advocate comes the day the Supreme Court is expected to deliver an interim verdict in a contempt case against Bhushan linked to his comments during an interview with the Tehelka magazine. The will decide if it should accept the explanation given by Bhushan in defence of his comments on former Chief Justices of India.