Bombay High Court Bench Recuses from Hearing 'Matka Queen' Jaya Chheda's Petitions Due to Conflict of Interest

The Bombay High Court bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan recused themselves from hearing five petitions filed by Jaya Chheda, also known as the 'Matka Queen' due to a conflict of interest. Justice Chavan had previously recorded evidence in a related case, prompting the recusal.

Advocate Taraq Sayyed, representing Chheda, noted that Justice Chavan had not passed judgment in the earlier case. Justice Chavan had served as a Judge of the City Civil and
Sessions Court in Bombay from March 2012 to February 2014, handling several matters under special laws.

The bench held that a judge who had previously dealt with a case, even indirectly, should not preside over the same case again. The petitions were initially assigned to Justice Dere's
bench after Justice AS Gadkari's bench recused themselves

Chheda had filed 16 petitions seeking to quash 16 FIRs registered under the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act. Sayyed argued that the FIRs were identical and filed to extort money from Chheda, with all accused names appearing in the same sequence.

Sayyed submitted that the prosecution had already stated that there was no material to support the case in 10 FIRs, and in one case, the police would not file a chargesheet. He was now pursuing only five petitions seeking quashing of five FIRs.

Chheda had been granted anticipatory bail in all 16 FIRs. She was previously convicted of murder and granted bail in that case, which involved the orchestrated accident in 2008 that
killed Matka King, her estranged husband Suresh Bhagat, and six others.

Author: Aarya Kadam
News Writer