Supreme Court 'Thanks' Advocate For Filing 6 Cases To 'Save' Former CJI Dipak Misra, Rejects INR 1 Cr Fee Claim

The Supreme Court today dismissed a petition filed by an Advocate seeking fee and expense amounting to INR 1 crore which he had spent to save former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra from “humiliation, torture, removal” by filing multiple cases in his defence.

"After making all sorts of nasty allegations against a CJI, why are you using 'honourable' now?" a miffed CJI Surya Kant asked the petitioner before it.

Notably the petitioner, Advocate Ashok Pandey approached the Supreme Court by way of an SLP challenging the Allahabad High Court's refusal.

The Advocate told court today that he had taken INR 2 lakhs from his daughter and had spent the same as legal expenses. "When the impeachment proceedings were going on, neither the Attorney General nor the Solicitor General had come forward..", Advocate Pandey further submitted.

"We thank you for the social service you provided to the institution..Claim has rightly been rejected by the High Court. Totally misconceived, dismissed. Thank you," the CJI said.

The High Court in March last year had junked the lawyer's demand of ₹1 crore in legal fees for allegedly being engaged by Law Ministry to file cases in defense of Ex-CJI Dipak Misra.

A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla had observed, "There is nothing on record to indicate that the Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs (Judicial Section), Government of India had ever engaged the petitioner for filing the six cases, referred in the pleadings, therefore, in view of the reasons given in the communication dated 26.7.2024, we find absolutely no reason to grant the reliefs prayed for herein. The writ petition lacks merits and is dismissed."

High court had observed that there was no basis for the claim, as the government had never engaged Pandey for legal representation. A division bench upheld a communication issued by the Ministry of Law & Justice, which had rejected Advocate Ashok Pandey’s demand. The letter, dated July 26, 2024, stated that the petitioner was not on the government’s panel of advocates and that the cases he had filed were on his own volition. Since the government had never assigned him the matters, it was not liable to pay any fees or expenses incurred by him.

During the hearing, Pandey, who appeared in person, had argued that he had worked on the cases in the interest of justice and was entitled to compensation. However, the court found no merit in his arguments. The judges noted that the Ministry had clearly communicated its position, and there was no legal obligation for the government to reimburse fees for cases not officially assigned to him. Court observed that independent legal actions taken without official sanction could not later be used as a basis for demanding fees from the government.

The Ministry’s letter, which was reviewed by the high court, had also stated that Pandey’s request was initially forwarded to the Department of Justice and later to the President’s Secretariat, but was ultimately found to be without merit. The government’s response made it clear that it had a panel of designated lawyers to handle its legal matters, and Pandey was not among them. The court held that this reasoning was sound and saw no grounds to interfere with the Ministry’s decision.

After the high court had dismissed the petition, Pandey made an oral request for a certificate under Article 134-A of the Constitution, which would allow him to appeal the decision before the Supreme Court. The judges refused the request, stating that the case did not involve any substantial constitutional question or any issue of general public importance that warranted further consideration.

Case Title: ASHOK PANDEY Vs UNION OF INDIA

Bench: CJI Kant, Justice Bagchi and Justice Pancholi

Hearing Date: March 12, 2026