The Supreme Court on Monday urged the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court to promptly hear a petition filed by a special public prosecutor seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against him by an accused he was prosecuting.
Senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal, appearing for advocate Shekhar Kakasaheb Jagtap, informed a bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice K. Vinod Chandran that Jagtap was handling cases against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and businessman Sanjay Punamiya, based on complaints from another businessman, Sunder Agarwal.
Agrawal told the court that Jagtap’s plea to quash the FIR—lodged by Punamiya—had been pending before the Bombay High Court, where multiple judges had recused themselves from hearing the matter. The case, now reassigned, has seen no progress for nearly a year, he said.
The Supreme Court, while refraining from expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, requested the Bombay HC Chief Justice to assign Jagtap’s plea to a bench under his supervision for an “expeditious hearing.” It also allowed Jagtap to mention the case for an urgent listing before the Chief Justice in light of its order.
The FIR accuses Jagtap of forging letters claiming his appointment as a special public prosecutor in cases against Param Bir Singh. Jagtap, however, argued that Punamiya had previously filed similar complaints before the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, which were dismissed. He further contended that the police registered the FIR without verifying the authenticity of the allegations, despite his 23 years of legal practice and empanelment as a counsel for the Maharashtra government.
[With TOI inputs]
Senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal, appearing for advocate Shekhar Kakasaheb Jagtap, informed a bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice K. Vinod Chandran that Jagtap was handling cases against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and businessman Sanjay Punamiya, based on complaints from another businessman, Sunder Agarwal.
Agrawal told the court that Jagtap’s plea to quash the FIR—lodged by Punamiya—had been pending before the Bombay High Court, where multiple judges had recused themselves from hearing the matter. The case, now reassigned, has seen no progress for nearly a year, he said.
The Supreme Court, while refraining from expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, requested the Bombay HC Chief Justice to assign Jagtap’s plea to a bench under his supervision for an “expeditious hearing.” It also allowed Jagtap to mention the case for an urgent listing before the Chief Justice in light of its order.
The FIR accuses Jagtap of forging letters claiming his appointment as a special public prosecutor in cases against Param Bir Singh. Jagtap, however, argued that Punamiya had previously filed similar complaints before the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, which were dismissed. He further contended that the police registered the FIR without verifying the authenticity of the allegations, despite his 23 years of legal practice and empanelment as a counsel for the Maharashtra government.
[With TOI inputs]
