CJI's ‘lower your pitch’ warning to lawyer during Kolkata rape-murder case hearing
The incident took place when the bench comprising the CJI and Justices Manoj Misra and JB Pardiwala was hearing the Kolkata doctor's rape and murder case.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Monday rebuked a lawyer and asked him to lower his voice during a hearing in the Supreme Court.
The incident took place when the bench comprising the CJI and Justices Manoj Misra and JB Pardiwala was hearing the Kolkata doctor's rape and murder case.
The rape and murder of the junior doctor in a seminar hall of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9 has sparked nationwide protests.
During the hearing on Monday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, told the court that he has videos and photographs to show that the lawyer was throwing stones at a protest over the crime, reported NDTV.
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This prompted lawyer, Kaustav Bagchi, also a BJP leader, to ask how a senior counsel like him (Sibal) can make such statements in court.
To this, the chief justice of India, retorted, saying: "Are you trying to address the gallery outside the court? I have been noticing your demeanour for the last two hours."
He also cautioned the lawyer to lower his voice.
"Can you first lower your pitch? Listen to the Chief Justice, lower your pitch. You are addressing three judges in front of you, not the large audience who is watching these proceedings on the video conferencing platform," the chief justice was quoted as saying by NDTV.
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Bagchi then tendered an apology to the court.
Subsequently, during the hearing, the chief justice expressed his disappointment, saying he is not used to multiple lawyers arguing at the same time.
"I am not used to this kind of advocacy where 7-8 people are arguing at the same time," he said.
SC asks protesting doctors to return to work
During the hearing on Monday, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud referred to the doctors' protest in the wake of the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, saying that protests cannot continue at the cost of duty.
The court, which is hearing a suo moto case in the matter, said if the protesting doctors don't return to work, it can't stop the West Bengal government from taking disciplinary action against them.
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CJI Chandrachud said if the doctors return to work by 5 pm tomorrow, no adverse action will be taken against them.
“We want to ensure that doctors resume work and we will give them safety, security... but they have to join work. When we said that no adverse action shall be taken against the doctors...Mr (Kapil) Sibal states that no action, including punitive transfers, should be there,” he said.