‘Be more patient’: SC lawyers on justice Arun Mishra’s comments

On Tuesday, justice Mishra, who is heading a five-judge Constitution bench hearing land acquisition cases, was hearing Sankaranarayanan’s arguments in the matter when the senior advocate presented an interpretation of a particular law.

The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) on Wednesday expressed concern over an exchange between Supreme Court judge justice Arun Mishra and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, urging the judge to “be little bit more patient in dealing with lawyers”.

When Sankaranarayanan insisted on shaping up his submissions before getting to his main argument, Justice Mishra said his act could amount to contempt of court. (HT file photo)

SCAORA, an association of lawyers eligible to file cases in the Supreme Court, said in a resolution that several lawyers have repeatedly raised grievances about “unwanted treatment” by the SC judge.

On Tuesday, justice Mishra, who is heading a five-judge Constitution bench hearing land acquisition cases, was hearing Sankaranarayanan’s arguments in the matter when the senior advocate presented an interpretation of a particular law. Justice Mishra, however, said the point would be repetitive since other senior advocates also mentioned it, and asked Sankaranarayanan to move on to the main argument.

According to people aware of the developments, when Sankaranarayanan insisted on shaping up his submissions before getting to his main argument, justice Mishra said his act could amount to contempt of court. Sankaranarayanan exited the court following the judge’s remark.

On Wednesday, senior counsel Vikas Singh urged the Supreme Court Bar Association, the association of lawyers practising in the apex court, to also pass a resolution condemning the incident.

While Sankaranarayanan refused to comment on the episode, justice Mishra did not respond to HT’s request for a comment.