New Delhi, May 1– The Supreme Court has expunged observations made by the Punjab and Haryana High Court against Haryana Additional Advocate General (AAG) Deepak Sabharwal, terming them “wholly unwarranted” in light of the circumstances.
A bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, in its April 21 order, said, “We set aside the impugned order of the high court by also expunging all those observations as against the state and/or learned Additional Advocate General representing the state.”
The remarks in question were part of a January 31 order, where the high court had accused Sabharwal of making misleading submissions in a matter related to medical bail of an accused.
The high court had said that such conduct amounted to a serious violation of prosecutorial ethics and was an affront to judicial integrity.
However, the top court disagreed with the high court’s approach, especially since the petitioner in the original case had passed away.
“In the circumstances, the high court could have simply disposed of the matter by recording the said fact,” the bench noted.
Instead, it went on to issue a 26-paragraph order that included critical remarks against the state and its counsel.
“These observations, which are bordering on strictures, were wholly unwarranted,” the Supreme Court said.
The apex court had earlier stayed the high court’s remarks on February 17, observing that “anything can be said against the party, but passing strictures against the counsel cannot happen.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling came in response to a petition filed by the Haryana Government, seeking removal of the high court’s adverse comments.
