SC allows Harish Salve to withdraw as amicus, raps some senior lawyers for imputing motives to it

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 23

A day after being appointed as amicus curiae by the Supreme Court to assist it in the suo motu case on Covid management, senior advocate Harish Salve on Friday recused himself following allegations of conflict of interest.

"It's the most sensitive case this court will look into. I don't want this case to be decided under a shadow that I knew the CJI from school and college days...and allegations that there is a conflict of interest," Salve told a three-judge Bench led by CJI SA Bobde, 

referring to critical comments made by some lawyers on his appointment as amicus curiae.

The Bench - which also included Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice Ravindra Bhat - had on Thursday said it would only hear Salve and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in the case.

"I did not know our Bar is divided among industries we appear for. Please allow me to recuse with all humility. I appeared for Vedanta since I was informed 10 minutes before mentioning...I don't want any side show. The language of the narrative now is very different," Salve submitted.

The CJI accepted Salve's recusal request even as he said there was nothing clandestine about their relationship.

"We understand you are pained by those statements. We will honour your sentiments. We will allow your request," the Bench said.

Giving time to the Centre to file its reply with regard to a national plan to deal with the health crisis created by Covid pandemic, the Bench posted the matter for Tuesday.

The Centre, states and union territories are also to spell out their respective stand on supply of oxygen and essential drugs, method and manner of vaccination and lockdown.

Pulling up some lawyers for making remarks without reading its order, the Bench clarified that it didn't transfer cases to itself from high courts.

"We are also pained at reading what some senior lawyers have to say...You have imputed motives to us without reading our order. We never said a word and did not stop high courts, we had asked Centre to go to high courts and report to them," the top court told senior counsel Dushyant Dave.

Alleging that a "maligning competition" was going on in the media, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said this was the last thing the country wanted during the pandemic.

"Someday somebody from judiciary has to take cognizance of this trend of electronic media. I saw on digital media people literally abusing. This needs to be looked into," Mehta said.

Referring to Justice Bobde’s retirement on Friday, he said the CJI deserved a "loving farewell".

Describing the situation arising out of a sudden surge in COVID cases and mortality as “grim”, the Supreme Court had on Thursday issued notices to the Centre, states, union territories and others on issues relating to pandemic management, particularly supply of oxygen and essential drugs.