In Brief
A retired High Court Judge was named in a CBI FIR for alleged conspiracy to bribe Supreme Court officials to secure a favourable order in a pending medical college case. Two successive petitions, identically worded but filed by different parties on consecutive days, sought constitution of a Special Investigation Team and raised allegations of conflict of interest against the Chief Justice of India. The Court held that the Chief Justice's prerogative to constitute Benches cannot be constrained by judicial orders, and that unsubstantiated conflict-of-interest allegations do not disqualify a Judge from hearing a case. The filing of duplicate petitions on consecutive days seeking the same relief was found to constitute forum hunting and abuse of process. The petition was dismissed, and the Court deprecated the conduct of successive petitions as scandalous and contemptuous, emphasizing that judicial firmness is necessary to protect the institution's integrity.
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