Above: Dushyant Dave. Photo: YouTube

Even as the Bar council of India serves a show-cause notice on Dave, the Gujarat HC Advocates’ Association swears to stand by him, calls for withdrawal of notice

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave’s scathing comments during a recent television interview on the collegium and other instances about Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra have stirred a hornet’s nest within the legal community. Dave had talked about the alleged lack of democracy within the Bar Council of India (BCI) and on the transfer of High Court Judge Jayant Patel to the Allahabad High Court, where he would be only the third senior-most judge, at which Justice Patel resigned. The transfer meant Justice Patel’s chances of ever becoming chief justice and making it to the Supreme Court were eliminated.

While the BCI served a show-cause notice on Dave on September 28, the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association (GHCAA) has lent its full support to Dave. Justice Patel resigned from the Gujarat High Court. The GHCAA has demanded that the BCI withdraw its notice to Dave, saying Dave was exercising his fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression.

Media reports say that the GHCAA, at its meeting, resolved that: “Certain statements made by Mr Dave in the program are duly protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India unless the court concerned takes it as contempt of court. If such statements are viewed by any statutory authority other than the superior court to be scandalous or contumacious, it has no power or jurisdiction to take action. Moreover, now in contempt proceedings, truth is also allowed as a valid defence.”

In the NDTV show ‘Left, Right and Centre’, Dave had condemned Justice Patel’s transfer, criticising the collegium and calling the transfer as the ‘darkest day in Indian judiciary’.

Dave had also commented on the BCI, in which, he said, elections were not held for years under some pretext and “Mr Mishra continues to occupy the position as Chairman unduly.”

He had talked about how terms had expired in many state bar councils as well with elections on hold in 15 state bar councils for the last two years, with the work being carried out by nominated  ‘Special Committees’.

Dave had said during the show that the Supreme Court collegium had surrendered to pressure from the executive in ordering the transfer of Justice Patel.

Dave has four weeks to reply to the BCI notice, but in the interim the situation has heated up, probably beyond the estimates of the BCI. The BCI, in its notice, has said: “The baseless comments of Mr Dave on TV yesterday (sic) is an attempt to malign the image of judiciary and the Institution. The personal attack smacks of some personal vendetta against the Chief Justice of India which amounts to gross misconduct.”

Meanwhile, the last may not have been heard of the Justice Patel case. Justice Patel was the one who ordered a CBI inquiry into the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case in Gujarat. This incident happened during the 2002 riots.

—India Legal Bureau