SCBA Secretary Calls For Removal Of Dushyant Dave As President Over Resolution Condemning Justice Arun Mishra's Praise For PM Modi

The equations within the Supreme Court Bar Association are getting tense after Ashok Arora, SCBA Secretary, called for an "extraordinary meeting" to remove Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave from the post of SCBA President, and also from the primary membership of the Association.

 Invoking Rule 22 of the SCBA Rules, Arora called for a meeting on May 11 to discuss the following :

1. To condemn the unauthorized resolution dated 25.02.2020 purportedly passed by the Executive Committee (through circulation) and to immediately withdraw the same.
2. Not to use the office of SCBA for political purposes.
3. To remove Dushyant Dave from the post of President SCBA .
   
4. To remove Sh Dushyant Dave from the primary membership of SCBA for working against the interest of the Bar.

The resolution dated 25.02.2020 is the one passed by the Executive Committee of SCBA condemning the public remarks made by Justice Arun Mishra in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Justice Mishra had said that PM Modi was a "versatile genius who thinks globally and act locally", while delivering vote of thanks during the inaugural ceremony of the International Judges Conference on February 22.

 Illegal and improper move, Dave responds

Dave has hit back at the move of Arora terming it "illegal and improper". He sent out the following message to the members.

"To ,

The Distinguished Members ,

SCBA , New Delhi ,

Dear Friends !

Hello ! I write to you to bring to your attention , the efforts by the Hon Secretary Ashok Arora , which will tell you about his design . The entire exercise is illegal and improper . The EC has not decided to call any such meeting . So whole exercise is unfortunate and wrong . It will have no purpose nor can it achieve any objective except to tarnish reputation of this great body , SCBA . I am the President elected lawfully and will continue to serve you till my term is over .This attempt violates every cannon of procedure and law and has no legs to stand .

I have been elected by You and it is because of that I am serving you to the best of my abilities . Only you have power and right to act , not some person carrying personal agenda .

Dignity and respect of this great institution , SCBA is at stake .

So please be informed that I will continue to serve you thru my tenure and will not be stopped by a motivated individual .

Warm Regards ,

Dushyant Dave"

In the resolution passed on February 25, which has become the trigger for the present move, the SCBA expressed strong reservations against Justice Mishra's remarks on the ground that such conduct impinges upon judicial independence.

 "The SCBA believes that the Independence of the Judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit. The SCBA believes that any such statement reflects poorly on the Independence of the judiciary and so calls upon the Hon'ble Judges not to make statements in future nor show any proximity or closeness to the Executive including Higher Functionaries," the resolution stated.

The Execution Committee of the SCBA said that  such proximity and familiarity may impact the decision making process by the Hon'ble Judges and may give rise to justifiable doubts in the minds of the litigants about the outcome".

 Ashok Arora had refused to sign the resolution.

Click here to download the Agenda of SCBA meeting called by Arora

Read Agenda of SCBA meeting