Family members of Harshad Mehta, accused in the 1992 stock market securities scam, have filed an application before the trial judge in the Bombay High Court alleging that he was biased and should recuse himself from hearing matters.
Justice D K Deshmukh, who is hearing the application,
would now decide whether he should recuse himself from the cases or continue trying them.
He would hear the petitioners as well as the Custodian, who has been appointed under the Special Court (trial of offences relating to transactions in securities) Act on the issue.
If the judge recuses himself from the cases, then the matters would have to be heard afresh by the new judge and this would take a long time, legal sources said.
The Custodian filed an affidavit on Friday saying these were "delay tactics" on the part of the applicants to frustrate the fresh auction of Harshad Mehta's properties for recovery of the scam money.
The application, to be heard again on November 27, has been filed by Mehta's ten family members including wife Jyoti, mother Rasila, brothers Ashwin and Sudhir, and sister-in-law Rina, besides 11 companies owned by the family.