“Thereafter, however, came a series of events which were startling,” read the letter.
On August 1, Special Counsel in the matter Javed Shaikh, who was instructing Venugopal, received a letter from the Maharashtra State Board of Wakfs cancelling his appointment in the matter. Shaikh then informed Sankaranarayanan that he could no longer brief him in the matter as a result.
“This was indeed shocking as no reason was given for this sudden change,” the AG noted in the letter.
The AG had said that removing counsel representing the parties on the eve of the hearings was a serious, uncalled for, unwarranted attempt to interfere with the administration of justice, and was clearly contempt of court.
The letter also clarified that the AoR being changed made no difference on the AG’s right of audience considering Article 76(3) of the Constitution.
Source: Barandbench
