High court judge resigns after controversy over contempt notice

Rajasthan high court Justice B J Sethna has tendered his conditional resignation, following the controversy over the show cause notices he issued to Chief Justice M G Mukherjee.

High court sources said that Justice Sethna sent his resignation to the President on September 15 with a request that it be accepted with effect from April 8, 1998.

Till then, the justice, whose retirement was due in July 2009, proposed to go on leave.

Justice Sethna's directive for show cause notices -- which triggered a chain of events including his transfer to Jaipur from Jodhpur -- was against the chief justice's order transferring a case from his (Sethna's) bench. The justice reportedly believed that Justice Mukherjee issued the order at Chief Justice of India J S Verma's behest.

Justice Sethna, sources said, had also spoken about certain allegations that were levelled against Justice Verma during the latter's tenure as a judge of the Rajasthan high court.

UNI