SC judge B R Gavai recuses himself from hearing Param Bir Singh’s plea

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice B R Gavai on Tuesday recused himself from hearing a plea filed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh seeking transfer of all inquiries against him to an independent agency outside Maharashtra.

The matter came up for hearing before a vacation bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Gavai.

“Brother (Justice Gavai) has some difficulty in taking up this matter. We will just say place it before another bench,” Justice Saran said at the outset.

“I can’t hear this matter,” Justice Gavai said.

“List before another bench in which one of us is not a party,” the bench said. Senior advocate Puneet Bali, appearing for Singh, said the inquiries against the former top cop is a ”complete witch-hunt” and are in ”complete transgression” of the orders passed by the apex court as well as the Bombay High Court.

Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer, was removed from the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner on March 17 and was made the General Commander of Maharashtra State Home Guard after he levelled allegations of corruption and misconduct against then Home Minister and senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh.