RAJA KHANversusU.P. SUNNI CENTRAL WAQF BOARD & ANR.

                   [2010] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R. 1212


A                            RAJA KHAN
                                   v.
          U.P. SUNNI CENTRAL WAQF BOARD & ANR.
                           I. A. NO. 2
                                 IN
B         (Special Leave Petition (C) No. 31797 of 2010)
                        DECEMBER 10, 2010
    [MARKANDEY KATJU AND GYAN SUDHA MISRA, JJ.]

C       Administration of Justice:

         Order of Supreme Court - Application for expunging
    certain observations therefrom - HELD: It is not correct to say
    that sweeping observations have been made against the High
0   Court - It has been specifically mentioned in the order that
    there are complaints against "certain Judges''. not all Judges
    and that many lawyers who are relatives of Judges are
    scrupulously taking care that no one should lift a finger on that
    account - It is clarified that there are many upright Judges in
E   the High Court, who are doing the same and everyone has
    not been painted with the same brush.

         The instant application was filed for expunging
    certain remarks made in the order of the Supreme Court
    passed on 26.11.2010, while disposing of the special
F   leave petition. It was stated in the application that
    sweeping remari':s had been made against the High
    Court.

        Disposing of the application, the Court
G        HELD:

     It is not correct to say that sweeping observations
  have been made against the High court. What is
  mentioned in the order dated 26.11.2010 is that there are
H                           1212
RAJA KHAN v. U.P. SUNNI CENTRAL WAQF BOARD1213
                    & ANR.

complaints against "certain Judges", not all Judges. It         A
has been mentioned in the order that many lawyers who
are relatives of Judges are scrupulously taking care that
no one should lift a finger on that account. It is clarified
that many Judges in the High Court are doing the !'>ame.
There are presently many excellent Judges of the                B
Allahabad High Court. These upright Judges are keeping
the flag of the High Court flying high by their integrity and
hard work. A distinction is clearly made in between those
who are taking care of their reputation and those who are
not. However, what has caused great pain and anguish            C
to the Court are certain unfortunate happenings for some
time in the High Court. Reference can certainly be made
to certain distressing orders passed during the Summer
Vacations in 2010, one of which pertains to this very case.
The fact that there are times when introspection is
                                                                0
required cannot b overlooked. The order of this Court is
to be considered in that spirit. It is reiterated that there
are many excellent Judges in the High Court who are
working hard and doing their duty honestly, and
everyone has not been painted with the same brush.              E
[para 3, 7, 8] [1214-F-G; 1215-G-H; 1216-A-B]

    CIVIL APP ELLATE JURISDICTION : I.A. No. 2-3 of 2010.

                               IN

    SLP (CIVIL) Co. 31797 of 2010.                              F

    From the Judgment & Order dated 05.-08.2010 of the High
Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Special Appeal No. 973 of
2010.
                                                                G
    Anis Suhrawardy for the Petitioner.

    P.P. Rao, Ashok K. Srivastava for the Respondents.

    The following order of the Court was delivered
                                                                H
    1214 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010) 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


A                                 ORDER

         1. This is an application praying for expunging certain
    remarks made in our judgment dated 26.11.2010 in the
    aforesaid case.
8        2. The Allahabad High Court has had a glorious history
    having produced great lawyers who were leaders in the
    Independence struggle. It is the largest High Court in India, and
    often gives leadership to all the High Courts in the country .
  . There have been many great Judges who have adorned the
C bench of the High Court upholding the rich traditions of the Court
    and maintaining the highest level of integrity e.g. Justice
    Mahmood, Justice Pramoda Charan Banerjee, Chief Justice
    Shah Mohammed Suleiman, Chief Justice Kamla Kant Verma,
    Justice Vashisht Bhargava, Chief Justice O.H. Mootham, Chief
D Justice Nasirulla Beg, Justice S.N. Dwivedi, Justice Satish
    Chandra, Justice Yashoda Nandan, Justice H.N. Seth, Justice
    N.D. Ojha, Justice C.S.P. Singh, Justice A. N. Verma, etc.
    Hence what happens in the Allahabad High Court is of great
    importance to the entire judiciary in the country, as it will have
E great impact on all the High Courts in the country.

         3. There are presently many excellent Judges of the
  Allahabad High Court. These upright Judges are keeping the
  flag of the High Court flying high by their integrity and hard wo1k.
F It is therefore totally false to say that all Judges of the Allahabad
  High Court are corrupt, or to construe our order dated
  26.11.2010 in that manner. It is nowhere mentioned in the said
  order that all Judges of the High Court are corrupt. What is
  mentioned in the order is that there are complaints against
  "certc1in Judges", not all Judges. It has been mentioned in the
G order that many lawyers who are relatives of Judges are
  scrupulously taking care that no one should lift a finger on that
  account. It is clarified that many Judges in the High Court are
  doing the same.

H        4. One of us (M. Katju, J.) has close attachment to the
RAJA KHAN v. U.P. SUNNI CENTRAL WAQF BOARD1215
                    &ANR.

Allahabad High Court as his family has been associated with          A
the High Court for over a century. It is, therefore, inconceivable
that he would like to damage the High Court in any way.
However, what has caused great pain and anguish to us, are
certain unfortunate happenings for some time in the Allahabad
High Court. It is not necessary to mention all of them here, but     B
reference can certainly be made to certain distressing orders
passed during the Summer Vacations by certain Judges of the
High Court this year (2010), one of which pertains to this very
case.

     5. In para 9 of the Application filed before us it is stated    C
that sweeping observations have been made against the High
court. This is not correct. In fact, in the order dated 26.11.2010
it has been stated -

     "We do not mean to say that all lawyers who have close          D
     relations as Judges of the High Court are misusing that
     relationship. Some are scrupulously taking care that no
     one should lift a finger on this account. However, others
     are shamelessly taking advantage of this relationship"
                                                                     E
How is the above a sweeping observation? A distinction is
clearly made in the above between those who are taking care
of their reputation and those who are not.

     6. It is alleged in paragraph 9 of the application that the
observations we have made in our order "seriously damage the         F
reputation of the institution" and sully its image. In this
connection we wish to say that the reputation of an institution
is damaged and its image sullied when some of its members
pass shocking orders and behave in a totally unacceptable
manner.                                                              G
     7. We can quite appreciate the anguish of some of the
learned Judges of the Allahabad High Court, but we cannot
overlook the fact that there are times when introspection is
required, and not mere reaction. We earpestly request the            H
    1216 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


A   Hon'ble Judges of the High Court to consider our order in that
    spirit.

          8. We again reiterate that there are many excellent Judges
    in the Allahabad High Court who are working hard and doing
B   their duty honestly, and we have not painted everyone with the
    same brush.

        9. With these observations the Application stands
    disposed of.

    R.P.                                  Application disposed of.