In an unprecedented legal move, Advocate Ashok Pandey, based in Lucknow, has petitioned the Allahabad High Court, demanding Rs. 1 crore from the Union Ministry of Law and Justice. The claim compensates for his self-initiated legal actions that, according to him, shielded the former Chief Justice of India, Justice Dipak Misra, from potential “humiliation, insult, torture, and removal.”
The controversy stems from a series of cases that Pandey filed in the Supreme Court during the tenure of Justice Misra, who served as the 45th Chief Justice from August 28, 2017, to October 2, 2018. The advocate’s legal maneuvers were reportedly aimed at countering an impeachment motion against Justice Misra, signed by 71 Rajya Sabha members in April 2018. However, the motion was later dismissed by the then Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman, citing a lack of substantial merit.
Pandey’s current legal battle began after his request for compensation, initially directed to the President of India on February 28, 2024, was referred to the Law Ministry, which ultimately rejected it on July 26, 2024. The Ministry’s rationale was that Pandey had undertaken these legal actions independently, without any directive or request from the government.
In his writ petition, Pandey argues that the rejection by the Ministry is “legally untenable” and represents an “insult to the President of India,” under whose referral the matter was considered. He asserts that the President’s Secretariat should take action against the responsible officers for undermining the authority of the President.
Pandey’s representation included his efforts in filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court, aimed at instructing the Rajya Sabha Chairman not to proceed with the impeachment motion. Additionally, he sought judicial intervention in 2018 to establish rules for fixing roasters and the formation of benches in the Supreme Court, a plea that was dismissed by a three-judge bench in April of that year.
The Ministry of Law and Justice has yet to respond publicly to the filing of the petition.
