BMW case: No interim relief for Anand from SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to pass any order on the plea of senior advocate R K Anand, seeking recusal of Delhi High Court judge Justice Manmohan Sarin from hearing contempt proceeding against him.
   
A Bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and P Sathasivian said it would examine his plea on December 14.
   
Pleading for urgent hearing, Senior Counsel Rajeev Datta appearing for Anand urged the Court to pass an interim Direction against the order of Justice Sarin, who refused to recuse himself from hearing the contempt proceeding against Anand.

Anand is facing contempt proceeding purportedly for influencing controversial witness Sunil Kulkarni in the BMW hit-and-run case.
   
While refusing to recuse himself on October 4, Justice Mishra had said that Anand's application was for "forum-hunting/ Bench preference or brow-beating the Court" and succumbing to such a pressure would tantamount to not fulfilling the oath of office.
   
On May 31, the court had taken suo motu cognizance following the telecast of sting operation by a TV channel showing Anand, in collusion with Khan, allegedly offering money to eyewitness Kulkarni to depose in favour of Sanjeev Nanda, the prime accused, before the trial judge in the eight-year-old case.

Nanda, grandson of retired Naval Chief Admiral S M Nanda, is accused of mowing down six persons, including three policemen, with his BMW car on January 10, 1999.