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Additional District and Sessions Judge 'X' v. Registrar General, High Court of Madhya Pradesh

Writ Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 792 of 2014)Decided 18 Dec 2014
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 792 of 2014
Justice J.S. Khehar · Justice Arun Mishra

Background

A former district judge alleged sexual harassment and retaliatory treatment by a sitting High Court judge, who denied the allegations. The High Court Chief Justice appointed two judges of that court to conduct an inquiry. The petitioner challenged the inquiry's independence and its departure from the Supreme Court's in-house procedure.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the two-judge inquiry exceeded the High Court Chief Justice's limited role of deciding whether a deeper investigation was needed. A deeper inquiry fell under the Chief Justice of India's authority, and the Court left the fresh procedure to that office, with the preliminary role assigned elsewhere because of the particular conflict in this case. It directed removal of the accused judge's administrative and supervisory control over potential witnesses and publication of the in-house procedure on the Supreme Court website. The petition was disposed of with liberty to bring remaining issues separately. The Court did not determine whether the harassment allegations were true or order removal of the judge.

Lesson Learnt

An investigation into allegations against a judge must protect both the complainant and the respondent through an independent, fair procedure. Witnesses should be able to give evidence free from the respondent's administrative control, and procedural relief does not itself establish guilt.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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