The Hindu : I am a victim of mischief, says judge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 05, 2003

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I am a victim of mischief, says judge

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI APRIL 4. In a sudden turnaround, Justice Shameet Mukherjee of the Delhi High Court today withdrew his resignation to "clear'' his name in the alleged Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land scandal.

The Full Court headed by the Chief Justice, B.C. Patel, had a brief sitting this afternoon to consider a whole gamut of issues, including Mr. Justice Mukherjee's resignation submitted earlier this week and his subsequent letter today withdrawing the resignation, but no decision was reportedly taken in view of the fact that the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is yet to take a decision on the issue.

Meanwhile, Rashtrapati Bhavan sent Mr. Justice Mukherjee's resignation letter to the Union Law Ministry to examine the veracity of the same and the Ministry returned the letter to Rashtrapati Bhavan confirming its authenticity.

Mr. Justice Mukherjee sent in his papers to the President on Monday citing personal reasons.

His chronically ill wife needed his personal care and attention, he had contended.

However, reports had attributed his decision to quit the job to the recovery of some files from the residence of Dharambir Khattar, an alleged "fixer'' active in DDA, connecting his name with the scandal.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Justice Mukherjee said there was no change in his decision to quit the judicial office, adding that withdrawal of the resignation was for the limited purpose of clearing his name in the scandal.

Legal circles felt that Mr. Justice Mukherjee was entitled to withdraw his resignation before it was accepted by the President.

Therefore, there was nothing wrong if he retracted his earlier letter.

Describing the allegation against him as an attempt by tainted bureaucrats in connivance with builders to tarnish the image of the judiciary, Mr. Justice Mukherjee said that he was a victim of a mischief on their part to shift the focus of the scandal from the bureaucrats-builder nexus to judicial officers.

When told of media reports that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had in its possession transcripts of conversations which he allegedly had with Dharambir Khattar, Mr. Justice Mukherjee challenged the investigating agency to come out with whatever it had against him.

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