Supreme Court calls security after tense scenes over plea naming ex-Chief Justice

The Supreme Court on Tuesday witnessed a heated exchange between judges and a petitioner over a plea seeking an enquiry against former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi. The Supreme Court bench eventually called security and asked for the litigant to be removed from the courtroom.
The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, who ultimately dismissed the plea filed by Arun Ramchandra Hublikar.
The bench expressed frustration over the repeated applications filed by Hublikar, with Justice Trivedi remarking, “We are going to put an end to this. So many applications, one after the other,” as per Bar and Bench.
In the petition, Hublikar, who is an advocate, called for an in-house enquiry against Justice Gogoi, accusing the former CJI of interfering in a judgement relating to Hublikar’s illegal termination. He argued that Justice Gogoi’s actions had adversely impacted his life.
“Justice Gogoi unwarrantedly interfered in a judgement… He has made my life miserable,” Hublikar submitted before the Court.
However, the court was not inclined to accept the plea. “We are going to impose cost. Don’t take any name of the judge. There is nothing in your case,” the bench stated firmly.
Undeterred, Hublikar protested, asserting, “At least I should get justice before my death.” However, the bench reiterated its decision, stating, “Sorry, we cannot interfere. Your petitions are dismissed.”
Tensions escalated when Justice Trivedi instructed security to remove Hublikar from the courtroom. Despite repeated warnings, Hublikar continued to argue, even questioning the court’s refusal to issue a notice. “Madam, you are doing injustice against me,” he claimed, before security intervened.
This was not the first time Hublikar had clashed with the judiciary.
In an earlier hearing on September 30, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who was presiding over the case, had firmly objected to the inclusion of Justice Gogoi’s name in the list of parties and had instructed Hublikar to remove the name. CJI Chandrachud emphasised that including a former judge as a respondent in a public interest litigation (PIL) lacked respect for the judiciary.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court subsequently rejected Hublikar’s petition, reiterating that such accusations against a former CJI could not be tolerated, and again directed the removal of the former CJI’s name from the case before the matter could be heard.
Justice Gogoi, who retired from the Supreme Court in November 2019, is currently serving as a member of the Rajya Sabha.