Supreme Court deprecates attempt to indulge in Forum Shopping and Bench Hunting
The Supreme Court of India has rejected a request for recusal made by Sanjiv Kumar Rajendrabhai Bhatt, the petitioner in SLP (Crl.) No. 9445 of 2022, in a order passed on May 10, 2023. The petitioner had requested that one of the judges recuse themselves from the matter due to a previous stricture made against the petitioner’s conduct on delaying tactics adopted by them in a related matter in 2011.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah and C.T. Ravikumar, who heard arguments from the petitioner’s counsel, Shri Devadatt Kamat, and the respondents’ counsels, Shri Maninder Singh and Shri A.N.S. Nadkarni.
The Court noted that the petitioner had not raised this objection earlier in the present matter and that the request lacked bona fide and seemed to be made with mala fide intention to avoid the Bench for no valid reason. The Court stated that the observations made by the High Court against the petitioner’s conduct in the past could not be a ground to accede to the request made by the petitioner. The Court also strongly deprecated the attempt to indulge in Forum Shopping and Bench Hunting.
The Court’s decision has implications for the legal practice in India, as recusal requests can be a common tactic used by parties to try and influence the outcome of a case. The Court’s rejection of the request in this case sends a message that such requests should be made with genuine reasons and not as a means to avoid a particular Bench or judge.
It is worth noting that the order is non-reportable, meaning that it cannot be used as a precedent or cited in future cases. However, it provides an insight into the Court’s reasoning on the matter and the factors that were considered in reaching the decision.
Date of Order:* May 10, 2023
Sanjiv Kumar Rajendrabhai Bhatt vs State of Gujarat & Anr.
