New Delhi, October 16: Justice Arun Mishra on Tuesday took strong exception to social media posts and articles suggesting he should rescue himself from heading a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court set up to re-examine his own verdict relating to provisions of compensation in the Land Acquisition Act. Visibly upset, Justice Arun Mishra said that his conscience was clear and he will not budge. CJI Ranjan Gogoi Says 'Loud and Motivated Conduct' is Replacing Graceful Discourses in Court, Calls it Erosion of Judiciary's Dignity.

Justice Mishra, who heads the five-judge Constitution Bench also comprising Justices Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, M R Shah and S Ravindra Bhat, reacted sharply when senior advocate Shyam Divan sought his recusal on grounds of judicial propriety. Divan pointed out that the Constitution Bench was examining a verdict that Justice Mishra had authored. Responding to Divan's request, Justice Mishra asked whether this amounted to maligning the court. CJI Ranjan Gogoi Bats For CBI's Independence, Says Investigating Agency Should be Given 'Statutory Status'.

"I will be the first person to sacrifice if the integrity of institution is at stake. I am not biased and don't get influenced by anything on earth. If I am satisfied that I am biased, only then will I recuse myself from hearing this case," Justice Mishra said. The Constitution Bench has been set up to examine two conflicting verdicts of the Supreme Court regarding the interpretation of Section 24 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

One of these two verdicts was delivered by a three-judge bench headed by Justice Mishra and also comprising Justices A K Goel (since retired) and Mohan M Shantanagoudar. The other ruling had come from another three-judge bench of then Chief Justice of India R M Lodha and Justices Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph (who have all retired since). Justice Mishra asked Divan and others who sought his rescual to give him a satisfactory reason for him to recuse himself.

"I may be criticised for my view, I may not be a hero and I may be a blemished person but if I am satisfied that my conscience is clear, my integrity is clear before God, I will not budge. If I think I will be influenced by any extraneous factor, I will be the first to recuse here," he said.

"Is this not maligning the court? If you had left it to me, I would have decided… But you are taking to the social media to malign me… and the Chief Justice of India?… Can this be the atmosphere of the court? It can’t be like this… Tell me one judge who has not taken a view on this. Will that mean all of us are disqualified?… This matter should not have been listed before me. But now it is before me, so the question of my integrity has arisen," he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2019 09:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).