Supreme Court Recalls Order To Remove Allahabad HC Judge From Hearing Criminal Cases After CJI’s Letter

The Supreme Court on Friday (8 August) recalled its 4 August directions that had removed Allahabad High Court Justice Prashant Kumar from handling criminal cases, the Bar and Bench reported.

A Bench comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan decided to recall the order after receiving a letter from Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, who urged them to reconsider the remarks and directions issued against Justice Kumar.

"Since a request has been made by the CJI, we hereby delete paras 25 and 26 from our 4th August order. While we delete it, we leave it the Chief Justice of the High Court to now look into the matter. We fully acknowledge that the Chief Justice of the HC is the master of the roster. The directions are absolutely not interfering with the administrative power of the Chief Justice of the High Court. When matters affect the rule of law, this Court will be compelled to take corrective steps," the Bench said.

Clarifying its position, the court added, "At the outset, we must clarify that our intention was not to cause embarrassment or cast aspersions on the concerned judge."

It maintained that the earlier order was aimed at upholding judicial dignity. "Whatever we said in our order was to ensure that the dignity of the judiciary is held high."

It had also directed that Justice Kumar be barred from criminal matters until retirement.

The order drew criticism, with 13 Allahabad High Court judges urging Chief Justice Arun Bhansali to defy it, and some Supreme Court judges reportedly objecting.

This prompted today’s recall, leaving the matter to the High Court’s administrative discretion.

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