Justice Ajit Bharihoke is new President of CESTAT -Corruption is a high-risk business
THE very name Ajit Bharihoke sends a chill down many a spine. He was the judge who sentenced former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao to three years rigorous imprisonment and had many high profile cases before him like Bofors, St Kitts, 3G, Amar Singh bail plea, to name a few.
Now, Justice Ajit Bharihoke is the new President of our own CESTAT. The Tribunal is going to be different with Justice Bharihoke at the helm.
Justice Bharihoke did his LL.B from Punjab University, Chandigarh. He joined Delhi Judicial Service on 07.12.1974. He had worked as Civil Judge, Metropolitan Magistrate, Additional Rent Controller, Senior Civil Judge and Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. He was appointed in Delhi Higher Judicial Service on 21.08.1995 and worked as Additional District and Sessions Judge, Additional Sessions Judge, Special Judge, Anti Corruption (CBI), Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal, Additional Rent Control Tribunal and additional charge of Additional Director, Delhi Judicial Academy. He also worked as Registrar, National Human Rights Commission on deputation from 19.05.2003 to 30.11.2006 and Registrar General in Delhi High Court with effect from 06.01.2007 to 13.05.2009. He was appointed as an Additional Judge in Delhi High Court on 14.05.2009.
In his judgement in the PV Narasimha Rao case, Justice Bharihoke declared, “The best way to discourage corruption in the public life particularly in high places is to award exemplary punishment to the high ranking public servants in order to send a message to the society that corruption... is really a high-risk business".
This was in the year 2000 and now after 12 years, the Justice is to head the Indirect Taxes Tribunal. The image of the Tribunal is not exactly envious and the previous President retired in rather unpleasant circumstances. Beware, Justice Bharihoke is here and in our own CESTAT! A lawyer remarked, “all the sinners are going to pay for the sins of even their past births”
Bharihoke retired from Delhi High Court on 16.10.2011. Justice Sikri of the Delhi High Court described him as a dignified and outstanding judge. After his retirement, he was chosen to head the CESTAT. Though the ACC had cleared his appointment, somehow the Revenue Department was not releasing the appointment order. The crusading Editor of ELT, RK Jain had filed a writ in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Government to appoint a President for CESTAT. The writ petition is to come up today before the Court No.1 of the Chief Justice and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw as item No. 28 in the First Supplementary List. Maybe to thwart any unpleasant result in the Delhi High Court today, the Revenue Department, in a pre-emptive looking move, released the appointment order of justice Bharihoke yesterday.
TIOL congratulates Justice Ajit Bharihoke on his appointment and heartily welcomes him into the intaxicating world of taxation.