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‘I am sorry…’: Who is Justice Rohit Deo and why did he resign as Bombay high court judge?
Justice Rohit B Deo of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court reportedly resigned saying he could not compromise on self-respect.
Bombay high court judge Justice Rohit B Deo on Friday said he had resigned due to personal reasons. According to a lawyer, who was present in the courtroom - the high court's Nagpur bench, Justice Deo also said he could not compromise on self-respect.
"Those who are present in the court, I apologise to each one of you. I scolded you because I want you to improve. I don't want to hurt anyone of you because you all are like family to me and I am sorry to tell you that I have submitted my resignation. I can't work against my self-respect. You people work hard," Justice Deo was quoted as saying in the court by the lawyer.
Who is Justice Rohit Deo?
Justice Rohit B Deo was a judge of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court.
Justice Deo was appointed an additional judge in June 2017 when he was Maharashtra’s advocate general.
In April 2019, Justice Deo was elevated as a permanent judge. He was due to retire on December 4, 2025.
Justice Deo led the high court’s two-judge bench that last year struck down the conviction and life term handed down to former Delhi University professor Gokalkonda Naga Saibaba, for shoddy paperwork and faulty procedure adopted by the trial court.
In April this year, the Supreme Court set aside Saibaba’s acquittal and sent the matter to the Nagpur bench to be decided afresh by a different bench. The top court had also asked the high court to decide the case within four months.
Last week Justice Deo stayed the operation of a Maharashtra government Resolution (order) of January 3 through which the state was empowered to cancel punitive proceedings initiated by the revenue department related to illegal excavation of minor minerals by contractors engaged in the construction of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway.
In January, he heard a petition filed by a wager and activist, Lalan Kishore Singh, assailing a notice issued to him by the Nagpur Police. The daily wager was summoned for questioning after he filed an application under the RTI Act seeking information about the security provided at the headquarters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur. The government pleader apologised to the petitioner in court and assured the bench that the police will not take any further action against him. In view of this statement, the Court disposed of the petition, Bar and Bench reported.
In May 2020, Justice Deo exception to the unusual and humiliating punishments meted out by police officers under the garb of enforcing Covid-19 lockdowns. The court had directed that no extra-legal measures or punishments should be taken recourse to while enforcing the lockdown, Bar and Bench reported.
Justice Deo told reporters on Friday that he had quit due to personal reasons, and sent his resignation letter to the President of India.
(With inputs from Pradip Kumar Maitra)
