The son of a Supreme Court judge, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, holds multiple government counsel panels in various departments, including the Income Tax Department, Goods and Services Tax (GST), Customs, Excise, and Madhya Pradesh government. This arrangement has raised questions about his ability to deliver impartial and fair judgments in politically sensitive cases.
Supreme Court Judge Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, who is two months away from retirement, has come under scrutiny due to his son holding multiple government counsel panels across various departments. According to the Madhya Pradesh High Court's website, his son serves as the standing counsel for the Election Commission since 2024, and also holds positions with the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Income Tax Department since 2023. Furthermore, he is empanelled as a lawyer by the Election Commission of India (ECI), appearing for them in Jabalpur.
The concerns were amplified when Justice Sharma disagreed with another judge, Dipankar Datta, on a case related to the constitutionality of a 2023 law governing the appointment of members of the Election Commission. The Act states that the head of the poll panel and the two other top members are to be appointed based on the recommendations of a selection committee comprising the prime minister, a Union Cabinet minister, and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The composition of the panel means that the government enjoys a 2:1 majority over the leader of the Opposition if there is a difference of opinion.
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra alleged that Justice Sharma's son being the poll panel's counsel may have influenced his decision on the matter of the 2023 Act. She emphasized the judiciary’s role as a protector and not a predator.
Moreover, on Wednesday, Justice Sharma also headed a bench that overturned an Allahabad High Court order directing Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam to pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation from her salary to 25-year-old Delhi University graduate Akriti Chaudhary, who had been detained under the National Security Act after the workers’ protest in Noida. It is noteworthy that Roopam is the daughter of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Saurav Das, a convenor of the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign and a legal journalist, questioned how a judge can deliver impartial justice when his family members serve at the pleasure of the government.
Source:
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