Another judge recuses from hearing plea of Virbhadra in DA case

New Delhi: Amid high drama, a second Delhi High Court judge has recused within a week from a disproportionate assets case against former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife, expressing displeasure at the couple's lawyer for "throwing" around names when he insisted the matter be heard later in the day as their senior counsel was busy.

Justice Najmi Waziri on Wednesday pulled up Singh's counsel who insisted on a passover while making persistent reference to senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, saying he was to appear in the matter but was in another court.

Singhvi is a senior Congress leader and party spokesperson.

Virbhadra Singh, a Congress veteran and former Himachal Pradesh CM, and his wife Pratibha Singh have challenged a trial court order to frame charges against them in a case of allegedly having assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The matter came up before Justice Waziri on Wednesday for the first time after Justice Mukta Gupta had recused from hearing the matter on January 24 without specifying any reason.

As the hearing commenced, Singh's lawyer sought a passover saying that Singhvi is to appear in the matter but he is busy in another court, to which Justice Waziri said there was no urgency in the matter as personal liberty of the petitioners had not been affected and that it can be heard on another date.

But Singh's lawyer insisted on a passover, drawing the ire of the judge.

"Do not throw names at me. Why should I hear it today? What is so special about it? It is not a matter about personal liberty," Justice Waziri said.

"Counsel should know what to say and what not to say. I will not hear the matter. List before another bench," the judge said.

Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan then appeared on behalf of Singh and apologised saying he was stuck in another matter and could not reach in time. To this, Justice Waziri said that the other lawyer had not said that Krishnan was to appear in the matter and had taken the name of another senior advocate (Singhvi).

Thereafter, Krishnan did not say anything more and the court listed the matter before another bench on February 6.

Eighty-two-year-old Virbhadra Singh and his wife had approached the high court on January 23 against a December 10, 2018 trial court order to frame charges against him, his wife and seven others in the case lodged by the CBI.

Singh has claimed in the plea that the offence of possessing disproportionate assets under the Prevention of Corruption Act, if any, is said to have been committed in Himachal Pradesh and the consent of the state government is necessary to initiate an investigation.