Ericsson notice to Anil Ambani: Supreme Court officials dismissed for tampering with order

In an unusual development, Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Wednesday summarily sacked two court officers for allegedly tampering with an earlier order passed by a Supreme Court bench led by Justice Rohinton Nariman in Ericsson's contempt court against Reliance Group Chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani. Early in the week, the top court issued a notice to Ambani and others on a plea filed by Ericsson India Pvt Ltd for allegedly not clearing its dues of Rs 550 crore after selling its assets to Reliance Jio.

"According to Supreme Court registry and two officials, CJI Ranjan Gogoi yesterday dismissed two court officers for allegedly tampering with an earlier order passed by an SC bench, in connection with the case of contempt of court against Anil Ambani," the news agency ANI reported.

According to Supreme Court registry and two officials, CJI Ranjan Gogoi yesterday dismissed two court officers for allegedly tampering with an earlier order passed by an SC bench, in connection with the case of contempt of court against Anil Ambani. pic.twitter.com/KL6G141HzS

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2019

Court masters Manav Sharma and Tapan Kumar Chakraborty, who held the rank of assistant registrars, took down all orders dictated in the open court and, therefore, were summarily dismissed with the help of extraordinary powers under Article 311 of the Constitution. 

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) also relied on Section 11(13) of the Supreme Court which empowers the top judge to dismiss an employee under "extraordinary" circumstances without resorting to normal disciplinary proceedings. CJI Gogoi signed an official order followed by a preliminary inquiry in the matter.