BANGALORE: The regular hearing of a criminal appeal filed by Shubha and others, convicted in a murder case, took a new twist on Wednesday after pamphlets were being circulated in the corridors of the court halls alleging that the division bench violated judicial discipline by taking up this matter on a priority though many appeals have been pending since 2004.
While hearing an appeal, the division bench, comprising Justice K Shreedhar Rao and Justice B V Pinto, brought to the notice of the special public prosecutor the distribution of pamphlets and asked him to file an affidavit by Thursday on whether the same bench should hear the appeal.
The bench has been hearing the appeal on a regular basis for two weeks and was being keenly followed by many advocates.
The pamphlet alleged, “There have been many criminal appeals pending since 2004. Is it not the duty of the court to have given preference to convicts who are undergoing imprisonment for several years? Many applications were rejected by the division bench on the ground that they will be heard on seniority basis. How did this case [Shubha case] become the senior-most? Is it because C V Nagesh [Shubha’s counsel] wanted it to be treated that way or is it the joint decision of both the bench and Nagesh? Or has Shubha’s father, Shankarnarayan, found a way of getting the case heard first?”
“Shubha has been propagating to fellow inmates in the jail that Nagesh will get the orders within a week. Is Nagesh dictating the judgment? Nagesh should bring out his talent, not his influence.” Some personal allegations were also made against Justice Shreedhar Rao for taking this matter.
“I am not interested in continuing the hearing if the parties agree, but I will not give in to these kind of cheap tactics. It is nothing but an attempt to tarnish my image,” Justice Rao told Express.