Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud sharply reprimanded a lawyer today for attempting to disrupt the Supreme Court hearing regarding alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which is an exam for medical school admissions.
Advocate Mathews Nedumpara, who was representing one of the petitioners, interrupted the proceedings while Narender Hooda, another representative for a petitioner, was speaking to the bench.
While responding to a question from the bench, Nedumpara said he is the senior most of all lawyers before the court saying, “I can answer. I am the amicus,” To this, tThe Chief Justice retorted, “I have not appointed any amicus.”
Reacting to this, the senior advocate added, “If you don’t respect me, I will leave.”
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According to a publication, this apparently pissed off the Chief Justice as the lawyer drew a sharp response from the Chief Justice. He said, “Mr Nedumpara I am warning you. You will not speak to the gallery. I am in charge of the court. Security ko bulao (call security) … have him removed.”
To this, the lawyer replied, “I am leaving. I am going.” The argument escalated as the Chief Justice doubled down, “You do not have to say that, you can leave. I have seen judiciary for the last 24 years. I cannot let lawyers dictate procedure in this court.”
Instead of cooling down Nedumpara retorted, “I have seen it since 1979.”
The Chief Justice then warned him that he will have to issue a direction. “I may have to issue something which is not fair. You will not interrupt any other lawyer,” he said.
The lawyer eventually left but returned later. He stated, “I am sorry. I have not done anything wrong. I was unfairly treated,” the lawyer said. He further said that he “forgives” the Chief Justice for “insulting” him and used the Biblical phrase: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
This is not the first instance of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud reprimanding Mathews Nedumpara for his courtroom behavior. In March of this year, during a hearing on the Electoral Bonds case, Nedumpara attempted to intervene and repeatedly interrupted the proceedings.
At one point, the Chief Justice responded sternly, saying, “Don’t shout at me… This isn’t a Hyde Park corner meeting; this is a court. If you want to file an application, do so formally. My decision as Chief Justice is that we are not hearing you. If you need to file an application, send it via email, as per the court’s rules.”
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