Latest news with #AartiSathe
The Print
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Row over BJP ex-spokesperson's nomination as Bombay HC judge reaches Parliament. Who is Aarti Sathe
A day after the collegium's decision, Trinalmool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale posted on X: 'Supreme Court collegium has recommended the name of lawyer Aarti Sathe for elevation as a judge of the Bombay High Court. Just curious because there's an Adv Aarti Sathe who has been a spokesperson of Maharashtra BJP.' On 28 July, the Supreme Court Collegium approved the appointment of Aarti Arun Sathe, once a Maharashtra BJP spokesperson, as a high court judge, which sparked a row as the Opposition raised concerns over whether she would be impartial as a judge. Mumbai: The controversial nomination of an advocate for judgeship at the Bombay High Court has now reached Parliament, with Congress MP Hibi Eden moving an adjournment motion to discuss the matter in the Lok Sabha. Supreme Court collegium has recommended the name of lawyer Aarti Sathe for elevation as a judge of the Bombay High Court. Just curious because there's an Adv Aarti Sathe who has been a spokesperson of Maharashtra BJP. Legal fraternity – same person or just similar names? — Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) July 29, 2025 Earlier this week, others in the Opposition in Maharashtra began voicing their concerns. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar wrote on X: 'The appointment of a person who advocates for the ruling party from a public platform as a judge is the greatest blow to democracy. The judge is a highly responsible position which should be impartial. When someone is appointed as judge from the ruling party, it raises a serious question mark on neutral position and also democratic process…' The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, clarified that the allegations are unfounded, and that her appointment is based on merit. Keshav Upadhye, chief spokesperson of Maharashtra BJP, said she had resigned from the party a year and half ago. 'She now has no connection with the BJP. The Congress party and Rohit Pawar are criticising her recommendation, which was made as per the decision of the judges' Collegium,' he posted on X. After resigning from the BJP, Aarti Sathe was recommended as a judge of the High Court after one and a half years. She now has no connection with the BJP. The Congress party and Rohit Pawar are criticizing her recommendation , which was made as per the decision of the judges'… — Keshav Upadhye (@keshavupadhye) August 5, 2025 Congress's state unit president Harshwardhan Sapkal also questioned Sathe's nomination. 'Democracy and the Constitution have been systematically sidelined in the country since 2014,' he said. 'All autonomous institutions are operating under government directives, even the Election Commission of India. But the most serious and worrying development is within the judiciary itself.' ThePrint attempted to reach Sathe via call, but she declined to comment on the matter. Also Read: Come to Maharashtra & speak—3 women MPs hold Nishikant Dubey to task over 'patak ke marenge' remark Who is Aarti Sathe? Sathe was affiliated with BJP Mumbai, and was appointed as a spokesperson in 2023. She was previously made a panelist for media interactions in 2020. She was also the head of the party's Legal cell. However, she had resigned from the position on 6 January, 2024, and also from the party's primary membership that year. 'I wish to be relieved from the responsibility as the head-legal cell BJP Mumbai for personal and professional reasons,' she had written in a letter addressed to Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, a copy of which is with ThePrint. Sathe has been a lawyer for the last 20 years, and has mainly dealt with matters linked to direct and indirect taxes, along with issues related to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) before the Bombay High Court. As party spokesperson, she often appeared in media debates on issues related to Mumbai. In debates on television news channels, she regularly spoke about the alleged mismanagement in the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), the condition of dilapidated buildings in the city, or the condition of roads. Back in 2016, in a conversation with Mirror Now, she had defended demonetisation, saying that it would help clean up the corruption in BMC and MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority). She had also spoken against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2021 when Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan had been arrested in a drug bust, accusing the then cabinet minister Nawab Malik of the undivided NCP of trying to influence the case. Referring to such statements by Sathe in the past, Rohit Pawar told media persons Wednesday, 'She has in the past taken the side of one party vociferously. So we want to request the Supreme Court Collegium to stop this proposal. We don't have doubt over her merit or capability. But looking at the current political scenario, question arises if common people will get justice? We as Opposition continuously speak against the government, so if our case goes in front of this judge, will we get justice?' Arun Sathe's BJP-RSS link Much like the current row, a similar controversy had erupted back in 2015, when Sathe's father, Arun Sathe, who is also the brother of former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan, was appointed to the board of market regulator SEBI as a part-time member. Arun Sathe is also a lawyer, and has been a BJP worker with RSS background. He was a national executive member of the partyBJP, and held various positions in the student wing, ABVP. However, he had said at the time that he had been nominated by the finance ministry, and would do his job judiciously. '…I understand the differences between politics and market issues. As a lawyer, I will have views independent of biases,' he had told Business Standard in 2015. He had also said that he had been connected with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood, and had been a part of the party since its Jan Sangh days. In 1989, he had tried to contest Lok Sabha polls from the Mumbai North West constituency against Congress's Sunil Dutt, but had lost. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Farmers' crosshairs to 'rummy' row, NCP's Kokate loses agri ministry after string of controversies
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
BJP ex-spokesperson named Bombay HC judge: Who is Aarti Sathe, in middle of Maharashtra row?
Seen to be a no-nonsense and down-to-earth legal professional, who specialises in complex tax disputes and is no stranger to the RSS and BJP, Aarti Sathe hit the headlines on Tuesday as she was recommended as a judge of the Bombay High Court. Born to middle-class Maharashtrian parents involved in the legal profession, Sathe has seen courts, cases, debates and legal drama since her growing days in Mumbai. While she has preferred to work from the background, the clamour over her appointment as a judge has seemingly unsettled her legal colleagues. 'I do not want to comment on the politics but those attacking her should judge her professionally. She has carved out her identity through hard work. Also, she will be on probation and will have to prove herself while her judgments would be closely watched by everyone. Why is the Opposition targeting BJP through a professional advocate,' said a senior lawyer, who has known Sathe and her family. With over 20 years of legal experience, Sathe has primarily dealt with tax disputes, specialising in direct tax matters and argued cases before the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), and Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) along with matrimonial disputes before the Bombay High Court. Early in her professional career, she worked with the Economic Law Practice (ELP) and was a part of senior lawyer Percy Pardiwala's chamber. She has also argued cases in the Supreme Court and other High Courts. Sathe's family too has been associated with the RSS and BJP. Her father, Arun Sathe, a well-known lawyer, is the brother of former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and has been a member of the BJP's national executive. He is one of the founding members of the party. Though Sathe was officially appointed as the spokesperson of the Mumbai BJP in February 2023, sources said she was not seen regularly in the party office like other office-bearers. She also served as the head of the Mumbai BJP's legal cell. 'Her appointment as the spokesperson was symbolic,' a source said. She resigned from the posts as well as the primary membership of the party in January 2024. However, she continued to participate in seminars and forums, and was seen to champion the cause of the role of women in jobs and education. 'Women should collaborate with each other, give wings and impetus… They should network with like-minded people from all walks of life,' she had said at one such event. The Opposition has been up in arms against the government after the Supreme Court Collegium on July 28 recommended her elevation while questioning how the BJP could 'appoint an individual affiliated to a political party to such a high post'. Sathe, with two other lawyers, will be inducted as additional judges of the Bombay HC after the Centre clears their appointment and issues a notification in this regard. The other two advocates are Ajit Kadethankar and Sushil Ghodeswar. Currently, the Bombay HC has a total of 66 judges, of which 50 are permanent while 16 are additional judges. The sanctioned strength of the court is 94. On Tuesday, NCP(SP) MLA and the party's general secretary Rohit Pawar said Sathe's appointment raised concerns over the 'freeness and impartiality' of the judiciary. 'The appointment of a person who advocates for the ruling party from a public platform as a judge is the greatest blow to democracy… The position of a judge is a highly responsible one. When someone from the ruling party occupies the post, it raises serious questions on the democratic process,' he said, adding that he was not questioning her educational or professional qualifications. Dismissing the charges as baseless, the Maharashtra BJP claimed that the appointment was 'purely merit-based and within the legal framework. 'Her name was recommended almost a year-and-a-half after she resigned from the party. She has no connection with the party,' chief spokesperson of the Maharashtra BJP Keshav Upadhye. Upadhye also cited previous appointments of politicians as judges to counter Pawar mentioning the names of Justices Baharul Islam, K S Hegde, Aftab Alam, FI Rebello.
India Today
7 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Opposition questions Aarti Sathe's nomination to bench citing political past
The Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation of advocate Aarti Sathe for elevation as a judge has stirred political controversy, with opposition parties in Maharashtra raising concerns over her past political affiliations. Sathe, they claim, served as a BJP spokesperson between 2023 and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, clarified that Sathe had resigned from all party positions and primary membership in early Sathe hails from a family of legal professionals. Her father, senior counsel Arun Sathe, is also known to have been active in politics, according to some lawyers practising in the Bombay High Court. Sathe is reported to specialise in tax disputes, matters before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) and SEBI, as well as matrimonial cases. The Maharashtra unit of the Indian National Congress posted on X, criticising the recommendation. In a strongly worded statement, the party said, 'The height of shamelessness. Shockingly, BJP spokespersons are being selected as judges. The BJP has openly started a cruel mockery of democracy.'Rohit Pawar, leader of the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction, also voiced objections via a post on X. He shared a screenshot from a now-defunct social media account of Sathe, in which she had announced her appointment as BJP spokesperson in Mumbai, accompanied by a folded hands wrote: 'The appointment of a person who advocates for the ruling party from a public platform as a judge is the greatest blow to democracy. This will have far-reaching consequences on the impartiality of the Indian judicial system. Merely possessing the qualifications to become a judge and appointing politically affiliated individuals directly as judges—isn't this tantamount to turning the judiciary into a political arena?'He further questioned the neutrality of judicial appointments: 'When a person appointed as a judge in a high court has a political background and has held a position in the ruling party, who can guarantee that the process of delivering justice will not be tainted by political bias? Doesn't the appointment of a single political figure raise questions about the entire process of justice delivery?'In response, BJP Maharashtra media head Navnath Ban dismissed the allegations as baseless. In his reply to Pawar on X, he wrote: 'False accusations should not be made recklessly. Aarti Sathe resigned from the position of BJP spokesperson on January 6, 2024. The resignation letter was submitted to the then state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar.'Ban also posted a copy of Sathe's resignation letter, in which she stepped down from her roles as BJP Mumbai spokesperson, Head of the BJP Mumbai Legal Cell, and primary membership of the party. The letter cited personal and professional reasons and stated that she would no longer be able to discharge her duties in those Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and comprising other senior judges, interviews prospective candidates and forwards recommendations to the central government for judicial appointments. On July 28, the Collegium recommended three names for elevation, including Sathe's. The central government is yet to act on the recommendations.- Ends IN THIS STORY#Maharashtra
