The Supreme Court on Friday admitted a petition filed by the trial judge in the Aarushi Talwar murder case to expunge certain adverse comments made by one of the Allahabad High Court judges in his verdict acquitting her Noida-based dentist parents.
Shyam Lal, the former CBI Special Judge in Ghaziabad, who is known for his judgement in the Nithari killings case and the corruption case against ex-Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Neera Yadav, said the “unwarranted comments” made by the puisne judge on the High Court Bench was “ultimately going to affect permanently his reputation as an impartial and transparent judge”.
Mr. Lal had convicted the Talwars to a life term for their daughter Aarushi’s murder. Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra-I, in his concurring judgement acquitting the Talwars on October 12, 2017, described Mr. Lal’s judgement in convicting the Talwars as based on “fanciful reasoning with pick and choose presuming facts with indomitable obstinacy and taking things for granted”.
A Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notice in the case. The parties included in the petition are State of Uttar Pradesh, CBI and the Allahabad High Court.
The petition notes that while the lead judge on the high court Bench made no such “disparaging remarks” about the trial judge the “second Hon’ble Judge in his concurring judgment has made certain adverse remarks which seriously affect the reputation of the petitioner as an independent and impartial judge”.
