Earlier today, Goswami, who is the editor-in-chief of Republic TV, moved to the high court challenging an order from the Bombay high court that denied him bail in a 2018 suicide complicity case.
Goswami’s release on bail will go to a hearing Wednesday before a holiday court by Justices DY Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee.
Presenting a strong protest against the “selective list” of Goswami’s plea, the president of the bar association Dushyant Dave questioned how the journalist’s plea is included “instantly” whenever he approaches the high court, while thousands of citizens Those languishing in prisons have to wait weeks and months. to get an audience.
“I have nothing personal against Mr. Goswami … the serious issue here is the selective list of issues that the Registry under his leadership is indulging in for the past eight months during the Covid pandemic,” Dave said in his letter. .
The SCBA chief further asked if there is any special order or direction from the Chief Justice of India and the Roaster Master in this regard, adding that it is well known that such “extraordinarily urgent lists” of matters cannot and do not take. place without specific orders from the President of the Supreme Court.
Dave said it is on record that time and time again he has received requests from various Advocates-on-Records (AORs) that the matters presented by them are not listed for weeks and months, even though they are very urgent and involve serious issues that require urgent court intervention, including bail.
“They (advocates) have even complained, giving names, that certain AOR matters are instantly listed while they have to wait in line for a long time,” he added.
“I must record that in some cases you have kindly assisted in listing these matters. But that’s not the problem. The problem here is why this selective list is carried out when the system is supposedly computerized and should work automatically. Why, despite the same, are turning around and that also before few seats? Why is there no foolproof system to be fair and equitable to all citizens and all AORs? Dave questioned.
He said that while people like Goswami receive “special treatment,” ordinary Indians suffer, including imprisonment, which is often illegal and unauthorized.
He even cited the case of former Union Minister P Chidambaram, who was unable to obtain a similar quick list and had to spend long months in jail until finally the Supreme Court declares that he deserved to be rescued ”.
He said Goswami’s guilty plea against the Bombay High Court order was filed yesterday, obtained an instant but not final newspaper number, and is set for tomorrow (November 11).
“This is a flagrant abuse of administrative power, whoever has exercised it on the administrative side. It gives the impression that clients represented by certain attorneys are receiving special treatment, which does not speak well of the great institution that is the Supreme Court, ”he said.
Calling for a fool-proof system to be installed to ensure an urgent list of well-known principles and until issues raised by various AORs are listed, Dave said the secretary general should not allow Goswami’s request to be heard.
He asked the secretary general to place his letter before the court headed by Judge DY Chandrachud, which is scheduled to accept Goswami’s request.
On Monday, the Bombay High Court refused to grant Goswami and two other people in the case a provisional bond and asked them to go to the local court to obtain relief.
He was arrested by Alibaug police in the Raigad district of Maharashtra on November 4 in connection with the suicide of architect and interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother in 2018 over alleged non-payment of fees by the defendants’ companies. .
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