Justice Rohit Deo of Bombay HC quits, says 'Can't work against self-respect'

Justice Rohit Deo of the Bombay high court on Friday (August 4) dramatically announced that he has resigned.

Justice Deo of the Nagpur bench stated this in the presence of several lawyers, following which his matters for the day stood discharged. The judge did not reveal what prompted his move but said he cannot work against his self-respect, according to a lawyer who was in the courtroom.

In 2022, Justice Deo acquitted former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba in an alleged Maoist case and quashed the life imprisonment imposed on him. He noted that the trial proceedings were null and void in the absence of a valid sanction under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The Supreme Court stayed the order and ordered the Nagpur bench of the high court to hear the case afresh.

Also read: Maoist link case: SC suspends HC order to release GN Saibaba

Illegal mining

Justice Deo last week stayed the operation of a Maharashtra government resolution of January 3 through which the state was empowered to cancel punitive proceedings initiated by the revenue department related to the illegal excavation of minor minerals by contractors engaged in construction or execution work of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway.

On Friday, he told the lawyers present in that court he wants them to continue working hard and apologised for being strict with them on occasions.

Justice Deo was appointed a judge of the Bombay HC in June 2017 and was due to retire in December 2025. Before being appointed a judge, Justice Deo also worked as Advocate General for the Maharashtra government in 2016.

Also read: HC acquits ex-DU professor GN Saibaba in Maoist links case

(With agency inputs)