Orissa High Court Judge Expresses Discontent Over Division Bench’s Decision
In a recent development at the Orissa High Court, Justice Biswanath Rath voiced his concerns over a division bench judgment, which he believes undermines the integrity of the judicial process. The division bench, led by the then Chief Justice S Muralidhar (now retired) and Justice G Satapathy, had nullified Justice Rath’s earlier decision, a move that he described as an
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“abuse of process of law.”
Justice Rath expressed his astonishment at the division bench’s swift decision to overturn his judgment “in just three lines.” He remarked,
“This Court in its entire practice period of 28 years and judgeship of 9 years has never come across in taking out the effect of such judgments in just three lines order by a higher Bench. There may not be any misunderstanding that the Division Bench has no jurisdiction, however, the Division Bench in such matter is required to apply its mind and give reason in taking out effect of such judgments otherwise such judgments will not be applicable in the legal parlance.”
Highlighting the depth of his initial judgment, Justice Rath pointed out that he had meticulously considered numerous Supreme Court rulings on pertinent legal issues. In stark contrast, the division bench
“appears to have completely ignored all such judgments, which have been passed by the Hon’ble apex Court even,” Justice Rath observed.
Furthermore, Justice Rath expressed his bewilderment at the division bench’s apparent stance, noting that
“it is strange to observe”
that the bench might have felt they possessed
“absolute appellate authority over single bench judgment.”
He emphasized,
“Yes, there is no doubt, Writ Appeals lie in certain cases but only in letters patent otherwise there is no difference so far as functioning of the Single Bench and the Division Bench is concerned. In the event, Writ Appeals are taken up as a matter of routine then there is no confidence and sanctity in the Single Bench functioning.”
This incident underscores the complexities and nuances of the judicial process, and the importance of maintaining the sanctity and confidence in the functioning of both single and division benches.
