Advocate Moves Allahabad HC Seeking ₹1 Crore Fees From Law Ministry For Filing Cases To 'Save Ex-CJI From Humiliation, Removal'

A Lucknow-based lawyer has approached the Allahabad High Court seeking a direction to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to pay him Rs. 1 crore as fees and expenses, claiming that he filed certain cases in the Supreme Court to save the then Chief Justice of India, Justice Dipak Misra, from "humiliation, insult, torture, and removal." In his writ petition, Advocate Ashok Pandey has also challenged the rejection of his representation to the President of India (sent on February 28, 2024), in which he sought Rs. 1 crore for the legal services rendered. He asserts that the President's office referred his request to the Ministry, but the Ministry rejected it on July 26, 2024, stating that the advocate had filed these cases of his own volition and the government didn't request him to do so. In his plea, Pandey argues that the Ministry's rejection of his representation is legally untenable, as it was not within the Ministry's authority to dismiss his claim, especially since the President's office had 'referred' the matter to it. He further contends, "The Ministry's decision amounts to an insult to the President of India, who is the executive head of the country. The Ministry was not competent to make the final decision on this matter. The President's Secretariat should take action against the officers responsible for insulting the President." Although the petitioner-Pandey has not specified the exact cases in his plea for which he is seeking the expenses of 1 Crore, he claims that, as a citizen, he fought against the forces targeting the then Chief Justice Misra, who served as the 45th CJI from August 28, 2017, to October 2, 2018. Notably, in April 2018, 71 Rajya Sabha members from seven political parties signed a notice seeking impeachment proceedings against Justice Misra. However, the then Vice-President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman, Venkaiah Naidu, later rejected the notice, stating that it lacked substantial merit. Pandey's petition also expresses disappointment that the Ministry rejected his claim solely because he was not on the panel of lawyers engaged by the Union Government and was not explicitly asked by the government to take action. Though his plea doesn't mention the details of the cases Petitioner is referring to, his representation sent to the President of India on February 28, 2024, states that he had filed a PIL plea in the Supreme Court to seek a direction to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha not to act upon the motion moved for the impeachment of CJI Misra. His representation also claims that he filed petitions mainly against those who were front-runner lawyers fighting the cases against CJI Misra. His representation also refers to his plea filed in 2018 to frame rules to fix roasters regarding the formation of benches. Essentially, in his 2018 plea, Advocate Pandey had questioned the unilateral power of the CJI to constitute benches “arbitrarily” and allocate work to different benches. A three-judge bench dismissed his plea in April 2018.

Advocate Moves Allahabad HC Seeking ₹1 Crore Fees From Law Ministry For Filing Cases To 'Save Ex-CJI From Humiliation, Removal'

Sparsh Upadhyay

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