# Punjab and Haryana HC raps senior lawyer for bias remark against judge 2026-08-21T01:53:49+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed concern over the conduct of Senior Advocate GK Mann, who accused the judge of bias during a hearing related to a former Punjab Police DSP. Justice Sanjay Vashisth, presiding over the case on August 17, said Mann's remarks were not conducive to proceedings and not expected from a designated Senior Advocate. The court was hearing anticipatory bail petitions filed by ex-DSP Gursher Singh Sandhu, who faces corruption cases. Sandhu is accused of extortion, benami transactions, and laundering proceeds after allegedly using complainant Baljinder Singh to register false complaints. The court directed the state to examine the complainant's role as well, which prompted Mann's objection. Justice Vashisth declined to comment further on Mann's conduct, leaving it to the senior counsel to reflect on her remarks. The matter has been adjourned to September 7, with the court awaiting the state's complete factual and legal position on both the accused and the complainant's actions. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The exchange highlights the unusual tension that can arise when a court orders scrutiny of a complainant's conduct in a corruption case. While judges routinely deal with objections from counsel, the accusation of bias by a senior advocate is rare and risks breaching the professional decorum expected of designated seniors. The case itself involves a former DSP accused of large-scale extortion, with the complainant now facing potential investigation. The court has paused proceedings to let the state probe both sides, a move that may delay a final bail decision. The next hearing on September 7 will show whether the state has begun such an inquiry. ## Coverage - barandbench.com Leads with the judicial criticism of the senior advocate and frames the bias accusation as improper conduct, giving the court's account prominence over the lawyer's grievance. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: GK Mann, Justice Sanjay Vashisth, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab Police Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/punjab-and-haryana-hc-raps-senior-lawyer-for-bias-remark-against-judge/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/punjab-and-haryana-hc-raps-senior-lawyer-for-bias-remark-against-judge/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/