New Bench to hear Sahara-Birla ‘pay-offs’ case

January 10, 2017 11:54 pm | Updated January 11, 2017 12:58 am IST - NEW DELHI:

A new Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy will on Wednesday hear petitions filed by the NGO Common Cause and another organisation seeking a Supreme Court-monitored probe into documents recovered during raids at Birla and Sahara offices in 2013 and 2014, allegedly showing massive bribes paid to high-profile politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister.

The development follows advocate Prashant Bhushan’s request in the last hearing that Justice J.S. Khehar, who is the present Chief Justice of India, should withdraw from the case as his “file for elevation is pending with the PM [Prime Minister].”

The lawyer’s request, which, he said, was made in his capacity as an officer of the court to protect the judiciary from rumour-mongering and “unpleasantness,” triggered a rash of criticism against him from both the Supreme Court and the government.

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