PTI, NEW DELHI: Senior-most Supreme Court Judge Justice U U Lalit on Monday recused himself from hearing the appeal of journalist Tarun Tejpal against the Bombay High Court’s order rejecting his plea for an in-camera hearing of the proceedings challenging his acquittal in a 2013 rape case.
Justice Lalit, who was presiding the bench which also comprised Justices S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha, recused from the matter as he had earlier represented Tejpal before the Supreme Court.
The matter has now been referred to Chief Justice N V Ramana for listing before a bench to which Justice Lalit and Justice L Nageswara Rao are not part.
Earlier on January 21, Justice Rao had recused from the case saying, “I recuse as at some stage in 2016, I had appeared for the state of Goa in the matter. Let it be listed in some other court next week.”
Now Justice Lalit recused and consequently, the hearing will be done by a third bench.
The top court is to hear the plea of Tejpal whose application for conducting an in-camera hearing of the proceedings under Section 327 of the CrPC was rejected by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on November 24, last year.
