CJI Declines Adjournment Request for AAP Leader’s Bail Plea, Stresses on Bench’s Autonomy

In a significant turn of events, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud declined an adjournment request for the bail plea hearing of AAP leader Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case. The plea was listed before another bench headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi, with Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Jain, urging for a deferment during a bench comprising CJI and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Singhvi cited the earlier substantial arguments heard by a different bench led by Justice AS Bopanna, expressing concern over the change in the bench composition for the hearing.

Amidst the plea for deferment, CJI Chandrachud emphasized the autonomy of the concerned bench, stating, “I will not control what the judge concerned is doing in the matter listed before her. The judge who has the case will decide. I cannot. I cannot take a call.” Satyendar Jain, seeking bail on health grounds, had been granted interim relief by the Supreme Court on May 26, with subsequent extensions, and the matter is now scheduled for hearing before a bench comprising Justice Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma on Thursday.

This refusal by the Chief Justice to intervene in the bench’s decisions underscores the judiciary’s independence and underscores the significance of the specific bench’s prerogative in handling the case. The development sets the stage for a crucial hearing concerning Jain’s bail plea, reflecting the Supreme Court’s adherence to procedural autonomy and the ongoing legal intricacies surrounding the high-profile case.