In Brief
Ms. Kamini Jaiswal, an advocate and member of the Commission for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), filed a writ petition seeking a Special Investigation Team (headed by a retired Chief Justice) to investigate a CBI FIR against a retired High Court judge relating to alleged bribery in a pending medical college case. She and CJAR filed successive identical petitions on consecutive days to different benches, requesting that a 5-Judge bench of the most senior judges hear the matter and that the Chief Justice of India not be involved. The Court dismissed the petition, holding that the Chief Justice's administrative power to constitute benches is absolute and cannot be constrained by judicial orders or litigant objections. Filing successive identical petitions to achieve different bench composition constitutes forum hunting and contempt. No sitting judge was implicated in the FIR, and requesting recusal based on collateral matters threatens judicial independence.
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