‘You Can’t Piggyback On Someone Else’s Case’: CJI To Prashant Bhushan Seeking Update On His Own Complaint

The Chief Justice of India S A Bobde Tuesday (7 January) questioned the locus standi of an Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) represented by senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan in a case seeking reopening of a closed corruption case against Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar.

"You cannot piggy back, and you can't ride on somebody's shoulder," the Supreme Court Tuesday told advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, who sought to reopen a land de-notification case against Yediyurappa and Shivakumar.

"Show us what happened to your complaint before the Lokayukta", said the Chief Justice S A Bobde to Bhushan.

The bench headed by the Chief Justice and comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant asked Bhushan to show if he had filed the complaint. The matter has been adjourned for two weeks.

While explaining the chronology of the client's complaint, Bhushan said a representation was made before the Karnataka Chief Minister.

The Chief Justice intervened, "Your representation to the chief minister is not the complaint. The counsel for the respondent said this representation was made after the High Court order, which quashed the Lokayukta chargesheet."

The Chief Justice said, "You are not at all clear what happened to your case...and we are not asking about your role. We want to know what did the Lokayukta do on your complaint, you cannot piggy back and cannot ride on someone else's complaint."

The court queried Bhushan that the complainant has withdrawn the complaint in the matter, and what was the reason in the delay for moving the apex court. The court also asked him to explain what they were doing during the pendency.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)