Days after retiring as the Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir said on Friday that the recent comments attributed to a bench headed by his successor Justice P. Sathasivam amounted to his “indictment” but he had been subsequently told that the bench made no such observations.
Mr Kabir, who demitted office on July 18, spoke on controversies surrounding his tenure including the comments attributed to the bench headed by Mr Sathasivam which had purportedly said that the orders in the Jayaprakash Associates case should not have been passed by a bench headed by him.
The bench headed by the former chief justice was dealing with the matter of payment of `100 crores fine that the Himachal Pradesh high court had slapped on the company in a particular case.
The bench comprising Justice Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi in its order on Wednesday while hearing the Jayaprakash Associates case purportedly said that these orders should not have been passed.
“...I spoke to Chief Justice and he said, I had never said this. I also asked Justice Gogoi, who is a partner on this bench, he said certainly not. We have not said this at all. Now I am going to take some kind of positive steps. I’ve requested the judges to give it to me in writing, if necessary I will take it up with...(the newspaper),” Mr Kabir told a television channel.