Parties advised to settle dispute independently
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday advised the parties involved to try to settle their dispute independently.
The recommendation followed a plea of Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh who claimed that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and ex-Punjab MLA Bikram Singh Majithia had made defamatory comments regarding the Commission he chaired. The panel was established to probe incidents of sacrilege in Punjab.
A two-judge bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar asked senior advocate Puneet Bali, appearing for respondents (Badal and Majithia), to take instructions as to whether they are inclined to express remorse to Justice Singh. Senior Advocate Nidhesh Gupta, appearing for Justice Singh, was asked on the other hand to find out whether an expression of such remorse/apology by the respondents is acceptable to the retired judge.
Justice Kumar also observed that “expressing remorse will place you (respondents) on a higher pedestal”.