NDLI: Indore Development Authority Vs. Manohar Lal & Ors. Etc.

Content Provider	Supreme Court of India
e-ISSN	30484839
Language	English
Access Restriction	NDLI
Subject Keyword	Abuse of court: Bench hunting Justice Delivery System: Practice and Procedure – Recusal of judge
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Law Order
Jurisdiction	India
Case(s) Referred	Referred Case 0 Referred Case 1 Referred Case 2 Referred Case 3 Referred Case 4 Referred Case 5 Referred Case 6 Referred Case 7
Case Type	Special Leave Petition
Court	Supreme Court of India
Disposal Nature	Others
Headnote	Justice Delivery System: Practice and Procedure – Recusal of judge – Whether a Judge who has expressed an opinion in a smaller Bench and the case has been referred to a larger Bench, because of the conflict of the opinion or otherwise, can hear the matter in a larger bench – Held: Rendering a decision on any issue of law and the corrective procedure of it cannot be said to be ground for recusal of a Judge; otherwise, no Judge can hear a review, curative petition, or a reference made to the larger bench – A Judge who had rendered any decision in a smaller combination is not disqualified from being part of a larger Bench when a reference is made to the larger bench – Rather, it is a consistent practice prevailing in various High Courts as well as of Supreme Court to include the same Judge/Judges in larger Benches. (Arun Mishra, J.)Justice Delivery System: Practice and Procedure – Recusal of judge prayed for on the ground of legal pre-disposition – Held: There is absolutely nothing wrong in holding a particular view in a previous judgment for or against a view canvassed by a litigant – No litigant can choose, who should be on the Bench – He cannot say that a Judge who might have decided a case on a particular issue, which may go against his interest subsequently or is part of a larger Bench should not hear his case – Furthermore, if a party or his Counsel can at length argue on the question of recusal of the Judge before him, he can also successfully question the correctness of a judgment rendered by him – If litigants are given the right to seek recusal of a judge on the ground that in a smaller Bench, a view has been taken by the Judge, the correctness of which has to be decided by the larger Bench, which includes the same Judge, then on a parity of reasoning recusal might be sought on the ground of the judge having taken a view one way or the other even in a different case in which similar issues were involved if the judge has decided similar issues earlier, in the same Court or in a different Court – This would open the flood gates of forum shopping – Recusal upon an imagined apprehension of legal pre-disposition would, in reality amount to acceding to the request that a Judge having a particular view and leanings in favour of the view which suits a particular litigant, should man the Bench – It would not only be allowing Bench hunting but would also be against the judicial discipline and will erode the confidence of the common man for which the judicial system survives – If request for recusal on the ground of legal pre-disposition in the form of a judgment is acceded to, that would destroy the very edifice of an independent judicial system – The entire judicial system is based on sound constitutional principles – The roster making power is bestowed on the Chief Justice of India so that litigants are not able to choose the Judges before whom they have to argue a matter, and he is a constitutional functionary who has been enjoined with this task at the highest pedestal to exercise the power of roster making – Once he has exercised his power, it is not for the Judges to choose – As per their oath, they have to discharge their duties without fear and favour and in a dispassionate manner without any ill will, bias towards litigants, or a cause – Abuse of court – Bench Hunting. (Arun Mishra, J.)Abuse of court: Bench hunting – Request for recusal of Judge by litigants – Held: If requests for recusal are acceded to for the asking, litigants will be unscrupulously taking over the roster making powers of the Chief Justice and that would tantamount to interference with the judicial system, by the mighty to have a particular Bench by employing several means and putting all kinds of pressures from all angles all around – Moreover, recusal in such unjustified circumstances, would become the norm – If recusal is made, it would tantamount to giving room to unscrupulous litigant to have a Judge of their choice who can share the views which are to be canvassed by them – No such right can be given to any person under the said guise – Justice Delivery System. (Arun Mishra, J.)‘Judicial Recusal’ by Grant Hammond, a former Judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand – referred to. Justice Delivery System: Recusal of Judge – Who to decide – Held: Recusal is not to be forced by any litigant to choose a Bench – It is for the Judge whose participation is objected to, to decide recusal application – Further, the embarrassment of hearing the lengthy arguments for recusal should not be a compelling reason to recuse – Nothing should come in the way of dispensation of justice or discharge of duty as a Judge and judicial decision-making. (Arun Mishra, J.)
Judge	N/A
Neutral Citation	2019 INSC 1184
Petitioner	Indore Development Authority
Respondent	Manohar Lal & Ors. Etc.
SCR	[2019] 15 S.C.R. 1085
Judgement Date	2019-10-23
Case Number	9036

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
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Indore Development Authority Vs. Manohar Lal & Ors. Etc.

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