Overview
- Justice Pankaj Bhatia recused himself from a bail plea on Friday and asked the Chief Justice to reassign it, requesting that he not be placed on the bail roster in future.
- He said observations in paragraphs 4 and 29 of the Supreme Court’s February 9 judgment had a “huge demoralising and chilling effect” on him.
- On February 9, Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan set aside his October 10, 2025 bail order, calling it “one of the most shocking and disappointing” and faulting it for lacking reasons.
- The Supreme Court directed the accused to surrender immediately and be sent to judicial custody, and it forwarded its judgment to the Registrar General for the Chief Justice’s attention.
- The underlying case involves a 22-year-old who married on March 1, 2025 and was found dead on April 25 with asphyxia due to strangulation, with the FIR alleging dowry demands; the court stressed that bail in such grave offences requires addressing statutory presumptions and postmortem findings.