SCBA case: Delhi High Court dismisses Ashok Arora's plea against suspension

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by Ashok Arora against a single-Judge order to deny a stay on his suspension as Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary.

A Division Bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Asha Menon said that they did not find any reason to interfere with the earlier order passed by the HC.

Earlier, Justice Mukta Gupta had refused stay on his suspension, saying that "no prima facie case is made out".

In May, SCBA Executive Committee (EC) had suspended Arora with immediate effect in a meeting held through an online conference, a day after he had called an emergent general meeting (EGM) of the lawyers' body on May 11 to deliberate on the removal of Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave as SCBA President.

The EGM was cancelled by the EC and a three-member panel set up to examine the allegations levelled against Arora, said a senior SCBA official. The decision to suspend Arora was taken by a majority, while Dave abstained from voting.

Tussle emerged among top SCBA office-bearers over a statement by then Supreme Court Judge Arun Mishra on February 22, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the International Judicial Conference 2020.

On February 25, Dave had issued a "resolution", allegedly signed by several members of the SCBA, to express anguish over Justice Mishra's statements. Arora had claimed that no resolution was passed, as he did not sign the statement released to the media.

"The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit," said the resolution.