advertisement
The name ‘Utsav Bains’ has triggered much chatter in the corridors of the Supreme Court, ever since he claimed that he was “offered bribe to help frame CJI (Chief Justice of India) in the sexual harassment case”. In his affidavit to the SC, Bains said that he was offered Rs 50 lakh as legal fees to take up the sexual harassment case against the CJI by a former SC staff. It is not clear who offered Bains this sum of money.
Bains claims that when he refused to defend the alleged survivor, he was offered Rs 1.5 crore.
The Quint learnt from a few lawyers that Bains is a friend/acquaintance of the CJI’s close relative. When The Quint asked him about it, he said:
Too busy to read, listen to the story here:
Questions were also raised by the legal fraternity as to why Bains was approached for a sexual harassment case against the CJI, when there are several senior lawyers in the SC who could have defended the survivor pro bono.
Senior SC lawyers told The Quint that no one has ever seen Bains arguing a case in the apex court. Then why was he handpicked to defend the survivor of alleged sexual harassment? Not just that, how is it that somebody was ready to offer Bains Rs 1.5 crore to defend the survivor?
The Quint spoke to senior SC lawyer Kamini Jaiswal, who represented Bains in a case in the SC. Jaiswal said:
Bains said that he has been a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court for several years, and some people want to discredit him.
Born in 1987, Bains completed his law degree from Panjab University in Chandigarh in 2011. He briefly worked with senior lawyer Harsh Mander in Delhi. After that, he joined the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights as a consultant.
In 2011, he returned to his hometown to practice law, but didn’t continue for long because he wanted to work on child rights.
In 2012, he filed a PIL in Punjab & Haryana High Court to help children who were abused in government-run shelter homes. The HC ordered a CBI probe on the matter.
During 2013-14, Bains was a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School, with their Child Advocacy Program.
These are some of the cases Bains has appeared for as a lawyer (since 2014):
Kamini Jaiswal said that Bains approached her in 2016-17 in a case in which the then Manipur chief minister’s son was allegedly involved in a road rage incident. Since no one was ready to defend the victims in the Manipur court, Jaiswal filed an appeal in the SC with a request to shift the case to some other state.
Bains said that not only did he face threats in the Manipur case, he was offered Rs 45 crore as hush money in the Asaram Bapu sexual assault case.
Bains further added that as a defence lawyer he had faced life threats in several cases. He also said that he moved to Delhi from Chandigarh as he wanted to create his own identity in this profession, and not encash his family’s legacy.
Post the Manipur case, Jaiswal didn’t interact any further with Bains.
However, Bains said, “I don’t know what high places places madam (Kamini Jaiswal) is talking about. I respect madam (Kamini Jaiswal) but unfortunately I feel sad that she is giving statements to the media that are not true and defaming me.”
The Quint spoke to Bains’ father, Rajvinder Singh Bains, who is a senior lawyer in the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
Utsav Bain’s grandfather was a judge in the Punjab & Haryana High Court and retired in 1984.
On Thursday, 25 April, the SC appointed a former SC judge, Justice AK Patnaik, to inquire into Bains’ claims of a “larger conspiracy” to frame CJI Ranjan Gogoi in the sexual harassment case.
Some senior SC lawyers feel that the apex court should focus on addressing ‘real issues’.
Kumar also added that, “One has to find a way to clean up the proverbial Augean Stables of the legal practice in courts, which creates such an environment. It’s a system of sharing spoils; fixers just exploit it for their advantage.”
While Bains’ allegations are to be vetted by Justice Patnaik, the sexual harassment case is being looked into by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)