IndiaPosted at: Sep 25 2026 8:55PM


CEC’s daughter’s case: Lawyers’ body questions ‘out-of-turn’ SC hearing by Justice Sharma, seeks fresh hearing

New Delhi, Sep 25 (UNI) Lawyers’ Association for Constitution (LAFC) has raised questions of judicial propriety over Supreme Court Justice Satish Chandra Sharma hearing two matters on September 23 involving the daughter of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a challenge concerning the law governing appointments to the Election Commission, seeking recall of the orders and fresh hearings before benches of which Justice Sharma is not a member.
In an open letter to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant dated September 24, the lawyers’ body questioned how Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam’s plea challenging an Allahabad High Court order in the Akriti Chaudhary NSA detention case came to be listed before a bench of Justices Sharma and N Kotiswar Singh, despite the association's claim that preventive detention and habeas corpus matters are ordinarily assigned to other benches under the prevailing roster.
The association also sought a fresh hearing on the question of referring a challenge to the 2023 law governing appointments to the Election Commission to a Constitution Bench, saying that matter too should be heard by a bench that does not include Justice Sharma.
LAFC said it was not questioning the merits of either matter but the circumstances in which they came before Justice Sharma.
It specifically flagged that Roopam is the daughter of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and cited reports that Justice Sharma’s son is empanelled as standing counsel for the Election Commission before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The association said these circumstances could lead an informed observer to reasonably apprehend a possibility of bias, while stressing that such principles were intended to protect judges as much as litigants.
In its letter, the association sought that the Supreme Court's order dated September 23, as modified on September 24, in Medha Roopam v. Akriti Chaudhary & Ors. and the connected matter be recalled and the case be placed before the bench holding the regular roster.
It also sought that the question of referring the challenge to the 2023 Election Commission appointments law to a Constitution Bench be heard afresh by a bench without Justice Sharma.
The body further demanded clarity on how the Roopam matter came to be listed before the particular bench and suggested that the Supreme Court consider a transparent disclosure and recusal protocol in cases where close relatives of a judge are engaged as counsel by a party or an interested institution.
The association said the issue was significant because case allocation and adherence to the judicial roster are central to public confidence in the administration of justice.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court proceedings over Chaudhary, a Delhi University graduate detained under the National Security Act following workers’ protests in Noida.
The Allahabad High Court had quashed Chaudhary’s NSA detention and criticised the manner in which the preventive detention order was passed. It also directed payment of Rs 5 lakh compensation to Chaudhary, with the amount to be recovered from the salaries of Roopam and other officials held responsible. The High Court had further directed that its displeasure with the officials be recorded in their service records.
Roopam subsequently approached the Supreme Court challenging the findings against her, while the Uttar Pradesh government also moved the apex court.
The manner in which the matter was listed before the Sharma-Kotiswar Singh bench has now become a separate issue. LAFC said that, under the roster effective from July 13, habeas corpus and preventive detention matters were assigned to the first four benches headed by the CJI and Justices Vikram Nath, B V Nagarathna and M M Sundresh.
It also pointed out that matters connected with the Noida workers’ protests had earlier come before a bench headed by Justice Nagarathna.
The association therefore questioned why Roopam’s petitions were placed before the Sharma-led bench rather than a bench assigned such matters under the regular roster.
LAFC also raised concerns over the conduct of the September 23 hearing, alleging that the audio of the proceedings was muted and that journalists faced restrictions in accessing the video-conferencing feed.
Calling court proceedings public hearings, the association said transparency was particularly important in a matter involving preventive detention and alleged violations of personal liberty.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has clarified the scope of its interim order in the Roopam case.
The court initially stayed the operation of the relevant portions of the Allahabad High Court judgment on September 23. The order was subsequently modified on September 24 to make clear that the stay applies to the High Court’s strictures against Roopam and its direction concerning the Rs 5 lakh compensation.
The Supreme Court has not stayed the Allahabad High Court’s decision quashing Chaudhary’s NSA detention. That decision therefore remains in force, while the adverse observations against Roopam and the compensation/recovery direction remain stayed pending further proceedings.
The Supreme Court is expected to consider the matter further on October 7.
The LAFC's intervention has thus put the spotlight not only on the underlying NSA detention case but also on questions of case allocation, disclosure, recusal and transparency in the Supreme Court's functioning.UNI XCAAB
Tags: #CEC’s daughter’s case: Lawyers’ body questions ‘out-of-turn’ SC hearing by Justice Sharma# seeks fresh hearing
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