A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will pronounce its verdict on Monday on whether Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh exceeded his authority by appearing before the Karnataka High Court on the appeals filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others against their conviction.
Giving an indication of their stand while reserving the verdict, the Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra said the appointment of Mr. Singh as prosecutor was “irregular”, but that being so, this irregularity did not by itself warrant a de novo hearing of the appeals by the Karnataka High Court.
The bench’s prima facie stand, as expressed, can be seen simultaneously as a relief for former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and a victory for DMK leader K. Anbazhagan, who had challenged Mr. Singh’s presence in the appeal proceedings before the High Court.
If there is no fresh hearing of the appeals, there may be no further delay or obstacle in the High Court judge’s path to deliver the judgment on them. In fact, there is every possibility that the High Court would now be able to meet the Supreme Court’s tentative deadline of May 12, 2015 for delivering its verdict on the appeals.
Justice Misra’s bench has permitted both the accused side and Mr. Anbazhagan to file any further written submissions before the High Court on Monday. The apex court asked the High Court judge to scan these submissions with “utmost care”.
The middle-path chosen by Justice Misra’s bench also vindicates Mr. Anbazhagan’s argument that the Tamil Nadu government had no authority to appoint Mr. Singh as prosecutor in the High court.
“His appointment is bad. He had no locus standi to argue. But there is no need for fresh hearing,” Justice Misra observed.
Justice Misra said there was no need for the apex court to go into any factual allegations traded to and fro in the case.
Again, Justice Misra said there was no need for the apex court to delve into the delay seen in the case and how the prosecution had lingered on for 18 whole years.
“Judges should not go into allegations... judges should not have gone into the delay aspect when the appeals are still pending,” Justice Misra said.
A version of this report appeared in The Hindu