"I Don't Want Any Sealed Covers, Keep It With You" : Chief Justice of India Ramana

"Don't give any sealed covers keep it with you, I don't want any sealed cover", Chief Justice of India NV Ramana remarked on Tuesday while refusing to accept documents submitted before the Supreme Court in a sealed covered by the lawyer appearing on behalf of the Patna High Court.

In a special leave petition pertaining to bail granted to an accused by the Patna High Court, Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar appearing for the High Court sought to submit transcripts pertaining to everything done by the petitioner in a sealed cover along with a pen drive.

Mr Kumar then informed a Bench comprising CJI NV Ramana, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice Hima Kohli  that a status report has already been filed by the High Court in the matter.

The Bench today granted 4 weeks time to the parties to file a counter affidavit in the matter. The Bench further sought assistance of Mr Kumar appearing for the High Court in the present case.

The Court had on last occasion (March 10th) directed the State of Bihar to place all the details pertaining to the case before the Court by 14th March, 2022.

The Bench had also requested the High Court to decide the bail application of the petitioner on its own merits by the next date of hearing.

In a related development, a bench led by Justice Chandrachud indicated today that it will consider the legal tenability of the "sealed cover" process in the MediaOne case.

Case Title: Dinesh vs State of Bihar. 

Click Here To Read/Download Order