The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Maharashtra Wakf Board for removing attorney-general K.K. Venugopal, the country’s highest law officer, midway through the hearing of whether all land donated by Muslims for charitable work would come under wakf property.
“Is this the way to treat the attorney-general of India?” a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana asked a newly appointed counsel for the wakf board.
“This has never happened in this court,” the bench told the counsel, who said the letter informing the AG about his removal was written by him on the instructions of the CEO of the Maharashtra Wakf Board.
The bench made the observation on the basis of a letter addressed by Venugopal, 90, to the Supreme Court registry expressing his strong objections to the manner in which he and several other lawyers were replaced after one of them sought an adjournment for two weeks as the AG was down with Covid.
Although the AG subsequently withdrew the adjournment request, the wakf board chose to remove him.
Venugopal’s letter listed “some shocking steps”:
- Javed Shaikh, the special counsel appointed by the Wakf Board who has been instructing me in the Wakf Board cases from 2011…, has been removed.
- Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who had informed the Court… that I would be leading him…, has been withdrawn.
- The last such person who has been targeted is the Attorney-General for India. All this interference with counsel who are to represent parties being removed at the last minute is a serious, uncalled for, and unwarranted attempt to interfere in the due administration of justice…. This clearly is an act of contempt of court. The Attorney-General cannot be dealt with so casually…”