“SC has come to such levels where Judges are afraid of the Bar”: Dushyant Dave writes to the CJI on not being allowed to speak at Justice Arun Mishra’s farewell

Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave – President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) – S A Bobde expressing disappointment for not being allowed to speak during the virtual farewell ceremony of Justice Arun Mishra.

He strongly condemned the incident and said that he will never again participate in any function being organised by the Supreme Court till the end of his tenure in December.

In his letter to the CJI, Dave said he “was put on mute” during the ceremony and that “the whole attempt was to prevent me from addressing on behalf of the SCBA and it's EC (Executive Committee), after having invited and invitation having been accepted”.

He said that he “joined through the link around 12.20 pm and was confirmed by the Team saying Video and Audio were perfect”. After Mr Venugopal was requested to speak, he expected it to be his turn to speak, however, Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association President – Mr Shivaji Jadhav was requested to speak. “For some unknown reasons, I was being disconnected again and again but I persisted and rejoined each time. I saw and heard Shri Jadhav fully and at the end of his address again I was not requested to speak though Shri Jadhav has acknowledged my presence in his address,” he added.

“After that, Your Lordship spoke which I saw and heard and then invited Justice Mishra to speak. At that stage realising the game plan I exited in the larger interests of the dignity of the Bar and myself,” Dave said.

Dave added, “But what is most important is that I messaged the Secretary-General on WhatsApp at 12.49 and again at 12.53 asking why I was kept on mute and why was I at all invited. Only at 1.02, he responded saying he is instructing Registrar to look into it, by which time it was too late and so I
messaged him informing that I had exited.”

He added that his intended statement at the farewell was, “On behalf of the SCBA, the EC and Myself, I wish you Justice Mishra happiness and bliss in remainder of your long life which by all accounts will be as fruitful and rewarding as it has been. May I pray to Lord Mahabaleshwar to bless
you with strength to introspect and stir up your Conscience.”

Dushyant Dave also said, “I must confess, the Supreme Court has come to such levels where the Judges are afraid of the Bar. Please do remember, Judges come and go but we the Bar remain constant. We are the real strength of this great Institution because we are permanent”.