Court Stays Senior Journalist Gurbir Singh's Expulsion From Mumbai Press Club
Mangaluru: In a significant development in the ongoing controversy at the Mumbai Press Club, the Mumbai city civil court on May 7, granted ad-interim relief to senior journalist Gurbir Singh, staying his expulsion from the club's membership and permitting him to contest the upcoming elections.
Singh and two other senior journalists, Bernard D’Mello and Shrikant Modak, were expelled from the Mumbai Press Club for inviting the human rights defenders implicated in the controversial Elgar Parishad case.
While Singh contested his expulsion, D’Mello and Modak too are in the process of approaching the court.
Observing that the club’s managing committee appears to have violated principles of natural justice in the expulsion process, Judge P.G. Bhosale granted this interim relief. Singh, the court observed, was not given the opportunity for cross-examination.
Other procedural lapses were also pointed out in the court’s order. The action, the judge observed, seemed to be intended primarily to prevent Singh from contesting elections, and that “non-interference would cause him irreparable loss”.
Also read: Mumbai Press Club Bars Elgar Parishad Defendants' Entry, Issues Show-Cause Notice to Member
The dispute stems from an informal gathering on the club’s terrace on January 19, attended by individuals accused in the Elgar Parishad case who are out on bail. The club’s managing committee issued a show-cause notice to Singh on February 22, alleging that Singh along with D’Mello and Modak facilitated the event, which allegedly violated the accused's bail conditions and brought “disrepute” to the institution.
An inquiry committee submitted its report on April 25, leading to the managing committee’s resolution on April 27 expelling Singh, D’Mello and Modak for six years.
Also read: Mumbai Press Club Suspensions Over Elgar Parishad Accused Visit Spark Row; NIA Inquiry Raises Stakes
In a statement issued after the suspensions, the club’s managing committee said the expulsion was necessary because their conduct had “brought the institution into disrepute and exposed it to legal risk”.
The committee’s high-handedness and the media coverage that followed subsequently brought the National Investigating Agency (NIA) involved in the matter. Days after the three senior journalists were suspended, the NIA visited the Mumbai Press Club and demanded details of the visits of the Elgar Parishad case accused.
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