"Petitioner Complained To CJI" : Bombay HC Chief Justice Recuses From Hearing Plea Challenging CBI Director's Appointment

Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta on Thursday recused from hearing the PIL challenging the appointment of IPS officer Subodh Kumar Jaiswal as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The CJ recused himself from the matter citing a complaint letter filed against him to the Chief Justice of India by the petitioner Rajendrakumar Trivedi in March, 2022.

However, Trivedi a retired assistant commissioner of police denied filing any complaint. Trivedi's counsel Satish Talekar in fact said his client would file an affidavit and said it was possible someone may have impersonated him .

"A letter has been written to the Chief Justice of India against me by your client. Because some complaint is made, it must not be appropriate for me to hear the matter," the CJ Dipankar Datta told Talekar at the outset.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said this frequent these days. When people don't get relief they write such letters, he said.

"This is absolutely not in good taste. Very easy to write letters and tarnish the image of judges," the Chief said.

However, Talekar, assisted by Madhavi Ayyappa vehemently denied that his client had written a letter against the Chief. "I will file an affidavit. Someone seems to have impersonated me," he said.

However, the Chief said that justice should not only be done but also seem to have been done and therefore he was recusing himself from the matter.

The PIL will now be heard by a bench led by Justice PB Varale.

Jaiswal is a 1985 batch IPS officer. In 2002, He was appointed to head the SIT in the famous Telgi Stamp Scam running into hundreds of crores of rupees.

In 2007, strictures were passed against the SIT and Jaiswal regarding faulty investigation, according to the PIL.

In 2021, Jaiswal was appointed as the Director CBI despite his lack of expertise in anti corruption cases as required under section 4A of the DSPE Act and without determining the integrity and credibility of the respondent, the plea states.

The PIL seeking to quash Subodh Jaiswal's appointment as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation after calling for the record and proceedings regarding was filed in November 2021.

It sought to call upon Jaiswal to show under what authority he is holding/ occupying the post of Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. In the interim, the PIL seeks to restrain him from officiating as Director, CBI.

The alleged complaint letter was made on March 22, 2022. However, it was only in June that a notice was issued in the matter.

Only recently both Jaiswal and the Centre filed their replies in the PIL claiming that there was no problem in Jaiswal's appointment.

However, after today's hearing the PIL will be listed before another bench.

The petitioner has denied complaining to the CJI. Says someone must have impersonated him