Supreme Court drama caught on camera: Petitioner abuses CJI, throws papers, misbehaves — How did bench react? | Today’s news
A high-octane drama recently unfolded in the Supreme Court when a petitioner who appeared in person not only misbehaved but also threw papers and hurled abuse at the Chief Justice of India. The incident took place when the petitioner, identified as Prabal Pratap, appeared before a bench of dual judge KV Vishwanath and justice Alok Aradhe on Friday.
He addressed the bench as a “servant of the court” and claimed it was “sovereign” while arguing a petition challenging the Allahabad high court’s order. The litigant said, “Mr. Judicial Officer, I direct you to order the registration of an FIR against ACP Vikas Nagar Lucknow.” to which Justice KV Vishwanath replied, “Are you ordering us?” Moments later, the petitioner can be seen saying “I am sovereign” and throwing papers in the air as he used insulting terms for the Chief Justice of India.
The situation in the courtroom escalated further when the petitioner said, “Ye de dena CJI ko (give it to the CJI),” as court officials quickly intervened to arrest him and expel him for his misbehavior.
In particular, Prabal Pratap, a litigant, filed a writ petition against the dismissal of his writ petition by the Allahabad High Court. He was seeking a plea against conversion of his application under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to a private grievance case, Live Law said.
How did the bench react?
After these highly dramatic scenes, a bench of the Supreme Court took up the case and issued the order, taking a lenient approach despite the breach of protocol. Throughout, the bench was calm and reserved towards the petitioner for his unruly behavior “considering the condition of the above-named petitioner and does not propose to take any action against him”.
Regarding the case, the bench dismissed the appeal and said, “On the merits of this case, we have perused the record, we find no good reason to interfere with the impugned judgment/order(s). The order further said, “The special leave application is therefore dismissed. All pending applications for leave to appear and discuss in person and for leave to file application(s) will also be processed.”
The shocking incident comes months after a lawyer tried to throw a shoe at Chief Justice of India BR Gavaie during a court proceeding in October last year. During this episode too, security personnel intervened and escorted the criminals out of the courtroom to prevent further chaos. The accused lawyer was punished for his misconduct as the Bar Council of India suspended his license and the Supreme Court Bar Association terminated his membership. Later, CJI Gavai insisted that no action would be taken against the advocate.
