CJI Bobde Was Once Closely Associated With Farmers' Group Whose Head Is Now in SC Committee

1/25/2021 CJI Bobde Was Once Closely Associated With Farmers' Group Whose Head is Now in SC Committee
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CJI Bobde Was Once Closely

Associated With Farmers' Group
Whose Head is Now in SC
Committee
Anil Ghanawat joined the Shetkari Sanghatana after Bobde, as a Nagpur
lawyer, stopped representing the group but veterans from the time
question his inclusion in the farm laws committee appointed by the
Supreme Court.
https://thewire.in/agriculture/cji-sa-bobde-links-shetkari-sangathana 1/13
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CJI S.A. Bobde. Photo: PTI
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AGRICULTURE LAW 23/JAN/2021
Nagpur: Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde used to

have a close relationship with the Shetkari Sanghatana, a
farmers’ group whose current president Anil Ghanawat is on
the Supreme Court-appointed committee to mediate between
the government and farmers protesting against three new farm
laws. Tens of thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab
and Haryana, have been camping on the borders outside Delhi
in protest for several weeks now, insisting that the government

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repeal the laws.
While there is nothing to suggest any kind of direct conflict of

Kajabi Open
interest on the CJI’s part, the composition of the committee
has raised questions about the basis on which the names were
selected.
The farmers’ unions have refused to negotiate with the

committee, alleging that all its members have been open
supporters of the three contentious laws.
The Supreme Court had named Bhupinder Singh Mann,

president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, Anil Ghanawat,
president of the Shetkari Sanghatana, Pramod Kumar Joshi,
former director of the International Food Policy Research
Institute in South Asia, and agriculture economist Ashok
Gulati on this committee.
In the face of criticisms over the committee’s composition,

CJI Bobde’s bench took the view that a person’s prior remarks
or views on the farm laws couldn’t be factor for
disqualification, a stand that lawyers say flies in the face of
established common law conflict of interest principles.
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“In my view , the chief justice’s constitution of the committee

fails two elementary tests of conflict of interest,” says Jai
Anant Dehadrai, a Supreme Court advocate. “The prior views

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of the members
Getsuggests
30 Daysboth actual and
of Kajabi Nowapparent bias, and
would ideally render them disqualified to serve on any
Kajabi
committee involved in the determination of whether the laws Open
are constitutional or not. It is surprising to me that the Chief

Justice would permit such a thing. Perhaps he was unaware till
much later.”
Mann stepped down in the face of allegations by farmers that

the panel’s composition was rigged in favour of the laws but
the others remain.
Bobde’s background as a lawyer
In the 1980s, Justice Bobde, as a young lawyer, was closely

involved with the Sanghatana and was also friends with its
founder Sharad Joshi, who often stayed in his house in
Nagpur.
“Sometime between 1983 to 1986, the then ruling Congress

government had slapped the National Security Act on some of
our leaders including Sharad Joshi and Jivanrao Chandak after
a protest. Our senior leaders were lodged in Nagpur jail. Ram
Jethmalani came to Nagpur and appeared for our leaders in the
high court and stayed at Sharad Bobde’s residence in Nagpur.
Since then, the Bobde family got connected with the Shetkari
Sanghatana. His (Sharad Bobde’s) father was also extremely
sensitive towards the farmers’ cause, and he had filed a Public
Interest Litigation over the issue of cotton farmers. I was party
to that case,” Nagpur-based agriculture activist and former
member of Sharad Joshi’s Shetkari Sanghatana Vijay
Jawandhia told The Wire.
Also read: SC’s Panel on Farm Laws Holds First Meeting,

Protesting Unions Stay Away
The Bobde family’s “inclination towards the Shetkari Notifications Powered By

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Sanghatana continued to grow
Get 30 Days after that,”
of Kajabi Now he said. “When the
Sanghatana began filing insolvency petitions, Ram Jethmalani
helped us as Kajabi
a consultant, and Sharad Bobde provided all the Open
help in the Vidarbha region. His residence in Nagpur had

almost become home to Shetkari Sanghatana leaders then. He
did not charge a single penny for this work. He worked with
us almost like an activist,” says Jawandhia, who was president
of the Maharashtra unit of the Sanghatana around 1986-87
and convenor and president of the All India Kisan
Coordination Committee around 1982.
The current chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray,

and the former one, Devendra Fadnavis, had both remarked on
CJI Bobde’s commitment to farmers while felicitating him on
his ascension.
Bhupinder Singh Mann, Pramod Kumar Joshi, Ashok Gulati and Anil
Ghanwat. Photos: Twitter
From 1993, the Sanghatana, which was an informal

organisation with no constitution or formal members, began
splitting into various factions. People like Jawandhia,
Chandrakant Wankhede, Raju Shetty, Sadabhau Khot and
Gajanan Ahmedabadkar walked out of the Sanghatana. Some
of them formed their own groups and some like Jawandhia

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chose to remain
Getindependent.
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Jawandhia had severe differences with Sharad Joshi over the

Kajabi Open
introduction of free-market policies. Joshi was always pro-
market and wanted to end the minimum support price;
Ghanawat, who is on the Supreme Court Committee,
continues to follow that policy, he says. Jawandhia left but
still calls himself a member of the Shetkari Sanghatana and
continues to work as an activist in the agricultural sector.
“We had organised a felicitation programme for V.P. Singh in

Nagpur when he was the prime minister and this programme’s
president was Sharad Bobde,” Jawandhia recollected. Prime
Minister V.P. Singh had stayed in Nagpur that night and had
dinner at the Bobde house.
“Sharad Joshi would stay with me whenever he used to visit

Nagpur but I distanced myself from the Shetkari Sanghatana
in 1993 when he supported the free market. After that, he
would stay at Sharad Bobde’s house whenever he would visit
Nagpur. Even I had personal relations with Mr Bobde. I can
still call him my friend,” Jawandhia claimed.
When asked if he remembers any association between Sharad

Bobde and Anil Ghanawat during those days, Jawandhia said
that he knew Ghanawat only as a local worker of the Shetkari
Sanghatana around 1993.
Bobde eventually ended his association with Sanghatana
A former office-bearer of Sharad Joshi’s other organisation

Swatantra Bharat Paksha from Nagpur, who spoke to The Wire
but requested anonymity, claimed that Bobde disassociated
himself from the Shetkari Sanghatana when he became a
judge.
“He never worked with Ghanawat,” he said, a pointNotifications

reiterated Powered By
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by GhanawatGet
himself.
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“Sharad Joshi had close relationships with almost all

prominent personalities in India,” Anil Ghanawat told The
Wire. “I had no idea about it (Justice Bobde’s connection with
the Shetkari Sanghatana). I got to know that there is a person
named Sharad Bobde when he became the chief justice of
India. I became a full-time member of the Shetkari
Sanghatana in 1995. I had never heard his name and it was
never discussed in our organisation as well and I don’t even
have his phone number.”
Gajanan Ahmedabadkar, former vice-president of the

Maharashtra unit of the Sanghatana, also confirmed Bobde’s
active involvement with Sharad Joshi.
“It’s true that Sharad Bobde was associated with the Shetkari
Sanghatana. His father was also close to the Sanghatana,” said
Ahmedabadkar, who left the Shetkari Sanghatana in 2004
along with Raju Shetty to form the Swabhimani Shetkari
Sanghatana.
Also read: How Parliament Overstepped Itself in

Bringing the Three Farm Laws
When asked if he remembers Ghanawat working along withPowered By

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Bobde, he said,
Get“No. Anil Ghanawat
30 Days emerged in the
of Kajabi Now
Sanghatana very late when all prominent people had left the
Sanghatana. Kajabi
Bobde’s association ended when Sharad Joshi Open
died and the Sanghatana became somewhat irrelevant. Sharad

Bobde’s contribution was that he used to fight in the cases that
were slapped on Shetakari Sanghatana’s activists. His role
ended when Sanghatana lost its relevance.”
But Ghanawat’s inclusion raises eyebrows
However, Ahmedabadkar made it a point to note that

Ghanawat found a place in the Supreme Court-appointed
committee because he was in support of the three contentious
farm laws and heads a farm group.
Jawandhia also says that he was “astounded” when this

committee was formed and both the farmers’ representatives
were open supporters of the free market.
“This committee can’t be pro-farmers. Why is P. Sainath not

on this committee? Because this government cannot tolerate
him. But again it’s all a guess. I think Ghanwat and the
Shetkari Sanghatana’s stand on this entire issue is political
opportunism. Sharad Joshi had drafted a National Agriculture
Policy for V.P. Singh when he was the prime minister. Singh
did not bother about it but Joshi published it on January 25,
1991, as an ‘official policy’ to push the point. This policy
clearly recommended state interventions but the moment the
Narasimha Rao government came to power, Joshi became a
supporter of a free economy. What could be bigger political
opportunism than this? It shows that his policy changed with
the ruling party. Sharad Joshi was a bureaucrat before joining
the farmers’ movement, and eventually, the bureaucrat in him
got the better of the agriculture activist and it was a reason
why the farmers’ movement got distracted,” Jawandhia added.
When asked if he sees a conflict of interest in the presence of

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Ghanawat inGetthis 30
committee
Days ofand the CJI’s
Kajabi Now association with
Ghanawat’s outfit in the past, Jawandhia said, “Sharad Bobde
Kajabigood stand initially during the hearing of this
had taken a very Open
case and had asked some tough questions to the government. I

was relieved to hear his comments initially about keeping
these laws in abeyance but now look at the members. I am
puzzled as to why they appointed such people on this
committee. I am not at all happy with this committee and the
CJI could have done better. People with dissenting voices
should have found a place on this committee. But I am giving
him (CJI) the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the government was
not ready to accept dissenters and that’s why such a
committee was formed.”
A questionnaire was sent to the Chief Justice of India via the

Supreme Court secretary general on his earlier association
with the Shetkari Sanghatana but no response has come so far.
The story will be updated once it is received.

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1/25/2021 CJI Bobde Was Once Closely Associated With Farmers' Group Whose Head is Now in SC Committee

POLITICS ECONOMY EXTERNAL AFFAIRS SECURITY LAW SCIENCE SOCIETY CULTURE

CJI Bobde Was Once Closely

CJI S.A. Bobde. Photo: PTI

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AGRICULTURE LAW 23/JAN/2021

Nagpur: Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde used to

in protest for several weeks now, insisting that the government

While there is nothing to suggest any kind of direct conflict of

The farmers’ unions have refused to negotiate with the

The Supreme Court had named Bhupinder Singh Mann,

In the face of criticisms over the committee’s composition,

Prasuma Momos Shop Now

“In my view , the chief justice’s constitution of the committee

Anant Dehadrai, a Supreme Court advocate. “The prior views

are constitutional or not. It is surprising to me that the Chief

Mann stepped down in the face of allegations by farmers that

Bobde’s background as a lawyer

In the 1980s, Justice Bobde, as a young lawyer, was closely

“Sometime between 1983 to 1986, the then ruling Congress

Also read: SC’s Panel on Farm Laws Holds First Meeting,

The Bobde family’s “inclination towards the Shetkari Notifications Powered By

help in the Vidarbha region. His residence in Nagpur had

The current chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray,

From 1993, the Sanghatana, which was an informal

of them formed their own groups and some like Jawandhia

Jawandhia had severe differences with Sharad Joshi over the

“We had organised a felicitation programme for V.P. Singh in

“Sharad Joshi would stay with me whenever he used to visit

When asked if he remembers any association between Sharad

Bobde eventually ended his association with Sanghatana

A former office-bearer of Sharad Joshi’s other organisation

“He never worked with Ghanawat,” he said, a pointNotifications

Prasuma Momos Shop Now

“Sharad Joshi had close relationships with almost all

Gajanan Ahmedabadkar, former vice-president of the

Also read: How Parliament Overstepped Itself in

When asked if he remembers Ghanawat working along withPowered By

died and the Sanghatana became somewhat irrelevant. Sharad

But Ghanawat’s inclusion raises eyebrows

However, Ahmedabadkar made it a point to note that

Jawandhia also says that he was “astounded” when this

“This committee can’t be pro-farmers. Why is P. Sainath not

When asked if he sees a conflict of interest in the presence of

case and had asked some tough questions to the government. I

A questionnaire was sent to the Chief Justice of India via the

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