Key Points:

Former Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju came into the spotlight as he posted a candid confession on his X account that he was once biased in a case when he was serving as the judge in the Allahabad High Court. 

Markandey Katju, a former Supreme Court Judge made a confession which stated that he was once biased in a case although he mentioned that he was always neutral and impartial in the court. He mentioned that there was one occasion in the year 1995 when wasn’t neutral. He also mentioned one incident when a middle aged lawyer came before him to argue a case. The lawyer identified himself as ‘M.H.Beg’ when Markandey Katju asked him.

“I am a human being too, with human weaknesses, and I am biased in favour of people from the land of my ancestors,” he posted on X.

About the M.H.Beg Incident:

Katju said that he paused for the moment when the lawyer told him his name, as it struck a bell in my mind. Then, he asked him, are you the Advocate General of Kashmir? He answered ‘Yes My Lord.’ The former SC Judge admitted that Altaf Ahmed, who succeeded Beg as the Advocate General of Kashmir had told him about Beg.

Mr. Katju then said that was the end of the case for me. He said I heard both of them for a few minutes, Mr Beg and government counsel and after that took the decision in the favor of the M.H.Beg without even considering the advantages and disadvantages. Katju also admitted that as far as Kashmiris were concerned, he wasn’t neutral because he is a Kashmiri himself. 

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About Former SC Judge Markandey Katju:

Markandey Katju was born on 20th September 1946 in a Kashmiri Hindu family. His family mainly consists of lawyers majorly interred in the political and current affairs.. He was elevated to the position of the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in August 2004. Then, in the same year, November he took the charge of the chief justice of the Madras High Court. After one year, in October 2005 he was transferred to serve as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

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In April 2006, he took the charge as the Judge in the Supreme Court from where he retired after serving a successful tenure in 2011. After retirement, former Justice Markandey Katju served as the chairman of the prestigious Press Council of India from October 2011 to November 2014.

[AV]

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