The name ‘Utsav Bains’ has triggered much chatter in the corridors of the Supreme Court, ever since he claimed that he was “offered bribe to help frame CJI (Chief Justice of India) in the sexual harassment case”. In his affidavit to the SC, Bains said that he was offered Rs 50 lakh as legal fees to take up the sexual harassment case against the CJI by a former SC staff. It is not clear who offered Bains this sum of money.
Bains claims that when he refused to defend the alleged survivor, he was offered Rs 1.5 crore.
The Quint learnt from a few lawyers that Bains is a friend/acquaintance of the CJI’s close relative. When The Quint asked him about it, he said:
“If anyone in this universe can prove that I have any relation with the kin of CJI Ranjan Gogoi, I would accept the punishment to be hanged outside the Supreme Court for lying through the teeth and would also leave my legal practice.”Utsav Bains, lawyer & complainant to The Quint
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Questions were also raised by the legal fraternity as to why Bains was approached for a sexual harassment case against the CJI, when there are several senior lawyers in the SC who could have defended the survivor pro bono.
Senior SC lawyers told The Quint that no one has ever seen Bains arguing a case in the apex court. Then why was he handpicked to defend the survivor of alleged sexual harassment? Not just that, how is it that somebody was ready to offer Bains Rs 1.5 crore to defend the survivor?
The Quint spoke to senior SC lawyer Kamini Jaiswal, who represented Bains in a case in the SC. Jaiswal said:
“We are wondering how he was approached because he is not a regular in the Supreme Court. There are many in the SC who are taking up causes for the judiciary or against the judiciary, in both ways, pro bono. There are many lawyers in the SC who have taken up issues like independence of (judiciary), corruption and all that.”Kamini Jaiswal, Senior Lawyer, Supreme Court
Bains said that he has been a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court for several years, and some people want to discredit him.
“The person who approached me (with Rs 1.5 crore) said that he had seen me on TV debates and spoke about my work in the Asaram Bapu case. So probably that made him come to me.”Utsav Bains, lawyer & complainant
Who is Utsav Bains?
Born in 1987, Bains completed his law degree from Panjab University in Chandigarh in 2011. He briefly worked with senior lawyer Harsh Mander in Delhi. After that, he joined the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights as a consultant.
In 2011, he returned to his hometown to practice law, but didn’t continue for long because he wanted to work on child rights.
In 2012, he filed a PIL in Punjab & Haryana High Court to help children who were abused in government-run shelter homes. The HC ordered a CBI probe on the matter.
During 2013-14, Bains was a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School, with their Child Advocacy Program.
These are some of the cases Bains has appeared for as a lawyer (since 2014):
- He filed a witness protection PIL on behalf of the rape survivors in the Asaram case.
- Bains represented the rape survivor against the Bollywood actor Jeetendra.
- He was the lawyer for the victim’s family in the Manipur CM’s son’s road rage case.
- He filed a PIL on LGBTQ+ rights on behalf of 8,000 homeless transgender persons in Jammu & Kashmir.
Kamini Jaiswal said that Bains approached her in 2016-17 in a case in which the then Manipur chief minister’s son was allegedly involved in a road rage incident. Since no one was ready to defend the victims in the Manipur court, Jaiswal filed an appeal in the SC with a request to shift the case to some other state.
“This case came to me through an NGO. Bains also came to my office in this matter because he was apparently appearing for the victims in the Manipur court. He always said that every time he went to Manipur, he felt his security was under threat. So accordingly, Justice Ranjan Gogoi gave him security in 2017.”Kamini Jaiswal, Senior Lawyer, Supreme Court
Bains said that not only did he face threats in the Manipur case, he was offered Rs 45 crore as hush money in the Asaram Bapu sexual assault case.
“I was in possession of some crucial videos in connection with the murder of a witness in the Asaram Bapu sexual assault case. I was offered money to remain quiet.”Utsav Bains, lawyer & complainant
Bains further added that as a defence lawyer he had faced life threats in several cases. He also said that he moved to Delhi from Chandigarh as he wanted to create his own identity in this profession, and not encash his family’s legacy.
“When I met Bains, he kept on saying that his life is under threat. In fact, in every matter he kept on saying that his life is under threat. I really don’t understand this.”Kamini Jaiswal, Senior Lawyer Supreme Court
Post the Manipur case, Jaiswal didn’t interact any further with Bains.
“He seemed to be connected in very high places and always talked about them.”Kamini Jaiswal, Senior Lawyer, Supreme Court
However, Bains said, “I don’t know what high places places madam (Kamini Jaiswal) is talking about. I respect madam (Kamini Jaiswal) but unfortunately I feel sad that she is giving statements to the media that are not true and defaming me.”
The Quint spoke to Bains’ father, Rajvinder Singh Bains, who is a senior lawyer in the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
“Utsav will not rush into something like this without proper evidence in his hands. He knows that he is dealing with powerful people. He has been an independent person, that’s why he never practised law with me.”Rajvinder Singh Bains, Utsav Bains’ father
Utsav Bain’s grandfather was a judge in the Punjab & Haryana High Court and retired in 1984.
‘Real Issues Not Addressed by SC’
On Thursday, 25 April, the SC appointed a former SC judge, Justice AK Patnaik, to inquire into Bains’ claims of a “larger conspiracy” to frame CJI Ranjan Gogoi in the sexual harassment case.
Some senior SC lawyers feel that the apex court should focus on addressing ‘real issues’.
“Reacting to an individual lawyer’s claims of a gang of fixers is not going to either provide real solutions or restore the image of the judiciary. What is required is to address the real issues which arise from practices which are rampant and give rise to situations of influence peddling and ultimately mostly false claims of fixing. That is kin of judges or civil servants even in initial years of legal practice getting major government and state and PSU panels, with no correlation to experience or ability. Fixers usually target this group to show proximity to judges or government to give out the impression that they can game the system.”Prashant Kumar, Senior Lawyer, Supreme Court
Kumar also added that, “One has to find a way to clean up the proverbial Augean Stables of the legal practice in courts, which creates such an environment. It’s a system of sharing spoils; fixers just exploit it for their advantage.”
While Bains’ allegations are to be vetted by Justice Patnaik, the sexual harassment case is being looked into by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court.
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