Special CBI Judge Talwant Singh, hearing the multi-crore Commonwealth Games-TSR System contract scam case on Thursday, sent the case file to the District Judge after Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta, representing sacked Organising Committee Secretary-General Lalit Bhanot, raised some allegations against him in the court room.
Rejecting the “false aspersions,” Justice Singh said the senior lawyer's conduct would be put to the notice of the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He sent the case file to the District Judge before whom the matter will come up at 2 p.m. on Friday.
“He [Mr. Gupta] has submitted that the Public Prosecutor and the Naib Court [police officer attached to the court] visit the chamber of the Judge off and on and it gives an impression to the accused, advocates, and press that a fair trial is not conducted,” said Justice Singh, recording the day's happenings in his order.
“It is not expected from an advocate designated as a senior advocate to make false allegations to lower the dignity of the court in the eyes of litigants, advocates, and public at large when he has no basis to make such allegations. A senior advocate is expected to act in [the] most dignified way and to set an example for other advocates to follow. Unfortunately, Mr. Gupta has failed to do [so]. It appears that false aspersions have been made against this court by Mr. Gupta with some ulterior motive,” Mr. Singh said.
Documents being seen
The case is in the stage of scrutiny of documents filed by the CBI along with the charge sheet against sacked OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and ten others. The judge had earlier fixed Thursday for beginning arguments on framing of charges, but with the study of the documents is yet to be completed, he directed it be finished by February 23.
The unsavoury episode ensued after Mr. Gupta said the accused need not be summoned to court daily while the scrutiny was being conducted, as this happened in the chambers of the advocates representing them.
‘Hostile atmosphere'
After Justice Singh adjourned the court till Friday, Mr. Gupta submitted that “a hostile atmosphere is being created in this court by calling the accused every day to the court for scrutiny.”
Incensed by the suggestion that he visited the judge in his chamber, senior public prosecutor V.K. Sharma reminded the court that when the accused in the case were in jail earlier, at the specific request of counsel for the accused persons, the court had directed that accused be produced in court daily to assist in the scrutiny. Seven of the accused are currently out on bail.
