'Will not control the judge', CJI refuses to defer hearing on Satyendar Jain's bail plea listed before another bench

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Thursday said that he will not control what the judge is doing in a particular matter listed before her, as the judge who has the case will decide.

The CJI, presiding over a bench, declined to intervene on the issue of listing of AAP leader Satyendar Jain’s petition for bail in a money laundering case before a bench headed of Justice Bela M Trivedi.

Appearing for Jain, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before the bench led by the CJI and also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

Singhvi said the matter should be deferred.

He contended the matter was earlier heard by a bench headed by Justice A S Bopanna.

“This case was listed before Justice Bopanna. He had heard it for 2.5 hours. Now the case is listed before Justice Bela Trivedi,” he said.

However, CJI was not impressed with Singhvi’s submissions.

“I will not control what the judge is doing in the matter listed before her. The judge who has the case will decide. I cannot. I cannot take a call,” the CJI said.

Singhvi requested the CJI to examine the case papers once.

He insisted he was seeking only a deferment of hearing in the case.

However, the CJI maintained that only the judge before whom the matter is listed will take a call.

“I will not,” he said.

In May, 2022, the ED had arrested the AAP leader on the charge of laundering money through companies allegedly linked to him. In May this year, the apex court granted interim bail to Jain for six weeks for spinal surgery. The apex court extended the interim bail by five weeks on July 24, following which the court extended Jain’s interim bail several times.

It is to be noted that a letter had earlier been written by senior advocate and former president of SC Bar Association Dushyant Dave to the CJI against listing of certain "sensitive" cases to a particular bench, allegedly in violation of guidelines and rules.