By Diksha-
A Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee today passed an order directing Swami Om to pay a fine of Rs. 5 lakh for his petition challenging the appointment of Justice Dipak Misra (Retd.) back in 2017.
In August 2017, when the plea was initially raised, Om had been told to pay Rs.10 lakh fine by a bench of CJI Khehar and Justice Chandrachud terming his plea as a ‘Popularity Stunt’.
The case had been heard by CJI Khehar on the last day of his tenure.
Swami Om had argued in front of him that according to Article 124(2) of the Constitution of India, the President of India is not required to consult sitting the Chief Justice of India for appointment of the subsequent CJI.
To this, the Court had clarified that the President can indeed consult the Judges.
But Om had been arrested from Bhajanpur area in Delhi by the time the said fine was imposed on him.
