New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday slammed a lawyer for approaching the top court over a verbal altercation with a Jharkhand High Court Justice in the courtroom in October last year. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said that the lawyer approached the apex court just to show that nothing could be done against him.
Advocate Mahesh Tiwari approached the Supreme Court against the contempt notice issued by the Jharkhand High Court after the verbal spat.
"He just wants an order from the Supreme Court to show 'kya bigaad liya mera' (you could not do anything against me)," the CJI said, as quoted by NDTV.
"If he wants to apologise, he should apologise... If he wants to show his eyes to judges, then he may go ahead. We are sitting here, and we will also see then," CJI Kant added. Meanwhile, the top court reportedly asked the Jharkhand HC to be considerate if Tiwari apologises.
What happened in the Jharkhand High Court?
Last year, dramatic scenes erupted inside the Jharkhand High Court after advocate Mahesh Tiwari and the Judge engaged in a heated argument. The incident took place in Court No. 24 of the High Court in Ranchi on October 16. The lawyer told the Judge not to "cross limit". A contempt notice was issued against the advocate by a five-judge bench of the High Court.
During a hearing, the lawyer responded strongly to Justice Rajesh Kumar’s “ordinary” remark against him, reported The Indian Express, citing sources.
A clip of the verbal exchange from the live stream of the court's proceedings is going viral on social media. In the clip, Tiwari could be heard saying, "The country is burning. The country is burning with the judiciary."
When the Judge interrupted him and objected to his comments, the lawyer further stated, "I will argue in my own way… Don’t try to humiliate anyone… Don’t cross the limit." As the argument escalated between the two, other lawyers present inside the courtroom intervened.
