Justice Jayachandran was the third judge who heard Shankar’s matter after a division bench of Justice Swaminathan and Justice PB Balaji had delivered a split verdict.
While Justice Swaminathan had set aside Shankar’s detention, Justice Balaji was of the opinion that before a decision, Tamil Nadu Police should be given the opportunity to file a counter affidavit.
Justice Swaminathan had also said in the open court that two highly placed persons had visited him and cautioned him against passing orders.
The tie-breaker judge, Justice Jayachandran later called the split verdict an aberration and said Justice Swaminathan should have recused from the case since he had claimed that some persons visited him to influence him.
In the order, Justice Jayachandran also made the following comment,
“The reasons which has triggered him [Justice Swaminathan] to deny the opportunity to the State is more disturbing and makes his finding on facts liable to be eschewed not only for want of completion by the opinion of Junior Judge in the Bench but also for the semblance of personal bias against the respondent against whom a serious allegation of approaching through emissary is made.”
Source: Barandbench
