Bombay HC Justice Rohit Deo resigns citing conflict with ‘self-respect’

Justice Deo of Nagpur bench made the announcement in court in the presence of several lawyers following which his matters for the day stood discharged.

Nagpur: Bombay High Court Justice Rohit Deo on Friday said he has resigned.

Justice Deo of Nagpur bench made the announcement in court in the presence of several lawyers following which his matters for the day stood discharged.

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Justice Deo did not specify the reason behind his decision to resign but said he “cannot work against his self-respect”, according to a lawyer who was present in the courtroom.

In 2022, Justice Deo acquitted former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case and quashed the life imprisonment imposed on him noting 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 HC to hear the case afresh.

Justice Deo last week stayed the operation of a Maharashtra Government Resolution (GR) 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 court he wants them to continue working hard and apologised for being strict with them on occasions.

Justice Deo was appointed as judge of the Bombay High Court in June 2017 and was due to retire in December 2025.

Before being appointed as judge of HC, Justice Deo also worked as Advocate General for the Maharashtra government in 2016.