SC declines to hear AAP MP's plea because of his derogatory comment about judiciary

The Supreme Court Wednesday said it will not hear the review petition of Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh against its verdict on the Rafale fighter jet deal as he made some "very, very derogatory statements" about the institution of judiciary. "We have with us some statements made by your client (Sanjay Singh) about this institution. It is very very derogatory. We are not going to hear you," said a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

The bench told senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, who was appearing for Singh, that it will pass some orders against the AAP MP after hearing him on the statements made by the politician. "We will take action against you after completion of these hearings and after giving you an opportunity to explain," the bench said.

"We will decide after hearing you in the context of certain statements made by him in connection with this matter (Rafale) and the CBI cases," the bench said. At the outset, when the bench assembled to hear the Rafale matter, the CJI inquired who was appearing for Singh in the review petition filed by him.

When Hegde stood up, the bench apprised him about Singh's conduct and the statements made by him. Hegde expressed ignorance about the statements made by Singh.

The apex court asked Hegde to speak to his client and get back to the court. Singh was one of the petitioners whose petition was dismissed on December 14, 2018.

Later during the hearing, the bench said it would explore the possibility of taking the assistance of amicus curiae, decide the issue of Singh.

(With inputs from agencies.)