Madhya Pradesh High Court recalls order after lawyers admit that order was exploited for bench hunting

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently recalled an order passed on May 10, 2022, after the Court was told this order was being exploited by lawyers to indulge in bench hunting. [Advocate Union for Democracy and Social Justice v High Court & Ors].A bench of Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Vishal Mishra also found that the lawyers involved themselves had admitted to bench hunting (a practice where litigants or lawyers try to get a case listed before judges who they think would give favourable orders)..In their October 10, 2023 order, the Court agreed with the concern that bench hunting was not good for lawyers or judges. Therefore, the Court allowed a plea to recall the May 10 order which was allegedly being misused to indulge in bench hunting. ."We also notice that the advocates who have signed the Vakalat in this petition are Shri Rameshwar Singh Thakur, Shri Vinayak Prasad Shah, Shri Parmanand Sahu and Shri Roop Singh Maravi. It is they themselves, who are stating that they are in Bench hunting which has to be stopped. They have admitted that they were Bench hunting. Therefore, in view of the admission made by the learned counsels ... that they are indulging in Bench hunting, we deem it just and appropriate that the order be recalled," the Court's October 10 order stated. .By the May 10, 2022 order, the Court had directed that no cases in which Advocate Vinayak Prasad Shah was involved should be listed before any bench with Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav as a member.This order was passed in a 2022 writ petition which was eventually dismissed in January this year. .However, the Court was recently informed that the May 10 order was now being exploited by others to bench hunt to their advantage. Litigants were now hiring advocate Shah in order to manipulate court proceedings (effectively ensuring that their matter was not listed before a certain bench), the Court was told..A plea was, therefore, filed to review the May 10 order and recall the same. The plea contended that bench hunting is not good for both the Bar and the Bench."Because, prohibition on listing of cases of particular advocate in a particular Bench is a means of bench hunting, which is not good for the administration of justice," the plea stated..Agreeing completely with the concerns raised in the plea, the Court allowed the review plea and recalled the May 10 order..Advocate Rameshawar Singh Thakur, Vinayak Prasad Shah, Parmanand Sahu and Roop Singh Maravi appeared for petitioner, the Advocate Union for Democrcy and Social Justice.Advocate Ashish Shroti appeared for the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and Deputy Advocate General Amit Seth represented the State government..BackgroundThe May 10, 2022, order was passed in a case related to the appointment of stenographers and assistants in the district judiciary.On May 10, 2022, Chief Justice Malimath and Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav directed its staff not to list any cases in which Advocate Vinayak Prasad Shah was involved before Justice Kaurav.A second bench shift ensued when the matter was taken up by a bench of Justices Sujoy Paul and Prakash Chandra Gupta, which eventually directed (by a June 30, 2022 order) that the matter should not be listed before any bench having Justice Paul as a member.The matter was then listed before a bench headed by Justice Sheel Nagu. On January 4, 2023, Justices Nagu and Virender Singh dismissed the plea on finding that a judgment had already been passed on the same issue on January 2..[Read October 10 order].[Read May 2022 order]