The Central Government has not proposed a secretariat of retired judges to deal with complaints against sitting judges of the supreme court and high courts. The complaints against sitting Judges are being considered as per existing “in-house mechanism” for dealing with the complaints against the higher judiciary. This was stated by the Minister of State for Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology Shri P.P. Chaudhary in a reply on behalf of the Central Government to a question asked in Lok Sabha today, 30 November 2016.
This question was asked by Shri Ram Charitra, a member of the Lok Sabha. The question was as under:
(a) whether the Government has proposed a secretariat of retired judges to deal with complaints against sitting judges of the supreme court and high courts;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the consideration of complaints against sitting judges will continue to be a strictly in house process within the judiciary; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
The Government’s answer was that there was no such proposal with the Government. It was further replied that the complaints against sitting Judges are being considered as per existing “in-house mechanism” of the courts for dealing with the complaints against the higher judiciary. As per the “in-house mechanism”, the Chief Justice of India is competent to receive complaints against the conduct of the Judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justices of the High Courts. Similarly, the Chief Justices of the High Courts are competent to receive complaints against the conduct of the judges of the High Courts. The complaints received by the Government are being forwarded to the Supreme Court or the concerned High Court, as the case may be, for action as deemed appropriate.
Also see:
- In-House Procedure for inquiry into complaints against Supreme Court and High Court Judges
- Procedure for in-house inquiry into complaints made against a High Court judge.
