Judge withdraws from Haryana lawmakers’ case

CHANDIGARH - A Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Wednesday withdrew from a case pertaining to the disqualification of five Haryana legislators saying that the lawmakers did not know how to behave with the court.

The legislators had defected from the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and joined the ruling Congress in Haryana last year.

Justice Permod Kohli created a sensation in the court Wednesday when he told the legislators’ lawyer, Bhagwan Chaudhary, that his “clients should know how to behave with the court”.

Without naming anyone and without even saying that he had been approached in the case by the defector legislators, Justice Kohli made his annoyance quite obvious before the lawyers of all sides and others present in the court room.

Justice Kohli passed an order in the court withdrawing from the case and said that he was sending the file to the chief justice to transfer the case to another judge.

Even though the lawyer of HJC president Kuldip Bishnoi and former MP Satya Pal Jain pleaded with the judge not to withdraw from the case saying that “everyone had complete faith in him”, Justice Kohli remained firm on his stand.

The HJC had earlier this year filed a petition before the high court saying that Haryana assembly Speaker Harmohinder Singh Chatha was dragging his feet on a plea seeking disqualification of the five legislators for defecting from the HJC.