The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Karnataka Government not to appoint till Wednesday a new special public prosecutor in the disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Issuing notice to the Karnataka Government over its decision to withdraw the present public prosecutor G Bhavani Singh, appointed special PP in the case on February 2 this year, the Court sought to know Singh’s wish as well. “Suppose we decide to hear the petition but he (Singh) refuses to continue. Then what is the effect,” said a bench of Justices BS Chauhan and SA Bobde.
One of the judges in the bench shared his concern based on past experience. “We have gained experience in such matters as we have seen in the case of Gujarat lokayukta,” Justice Chauhan remarked. “So much of time and money was spent on arguments at the SlP stage, then review and even curative petition which we dismissed. And then the lokayukta says I don’t want to continue. For whom do we decide then,” the bench asked.
The bench issued notice to Singh, but stayed any fresh appointment till Wednesday when the matter will be heard at length. Jayalalithaa raised two issues before the court. According to her counsel and senior advocate UU lalit, the Supreme Court while transferring her case from TN to Karnataka provided the prosecutor to be appointed after consultation with the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. The decision removing Singh as Special PP was issued on Monday without consultation with CJ, lalit alleged.
lalit informed the Court that Jayalalithaa’s rival DMK party through its leader K Anbazhagan had objected to Singh’s continuation before Karnataka HC where the matter was pending. He apprehended that Singh’s removal was orchestrated at a time when the trial in the case was at its last stage and the trial judge all set to retire by September 30. “If a new PP is brought in, it will take him minimum three to four months to go through the voluminous documents. The matter will be pushed beyond September 30 and will require to be heard afresh.”
The bench decided to put on hold any new appointment and posted the matter for hearing on Wednesday. However, it refused to stay the notification withdrawing Singh as SPP.
“If stay is granted, it would amount to granting you relief on the first day itself,” the bench said. lalit urged the court to consider producing the official file cancelling Singh’s appointment in order to ascertain whether HC Chief Justice was consulted. Since the State Government was already a party, the bench felt that it could be procured at any stage.