SC refers to 5-judge constitution bench plea seeking probe into medical scam case (Lead)

New Delhi Nov 9 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday referred to a five-judge constitution bench a petition seeking probe into the alleged role of a retired Orissa High Court judge in a scam involving a medical institution and casting its shadows on the functioning of the top court.

The bench of Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer directed the CBI Director to keep the entire record of its investigations into the matter and the case diary in a sealed cover and place it before the constitution bench that will hear the matter on Monday (November 13).

The court said that the constitution bench would comprise five senior most judges of the top court.

The court did not say anything on a plea by senior counsel Dushyant Dave that the constitution bench should not include Chief Justice Dipak Misra as the matter relating to the medical institution in question was heard by the bench headed by him.

On Wednesday a petition was filed seeking a SIT probe into the matter before Justice Chelameswar and he agreed to hear it.

However in the post lunch session on Wednesday it surfaced that the matter that Justice Chelameswar had said he would hear was assigned to another bench by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

In September the CBI had arrested retired Orissa High Court judge Ishrat Masroor Quddusi and five others including the chairman of a private medical college in Lucknow in connection with the medical admission scam case.

--IANS
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