The Supreme Court on Friday said it has become a “practice” to level allegations against judges who are in the zone of consideration for elevation to higher courts.
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde made the oral remarks while staying a disciplinary inquiry against a district judge against whom a woman judicial officer had levelled sexual harassment allegations in Madhya Pradesh.
The Bench also directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court Registrar General to file a response. The High Court had consented to an inquiry into the allegations by the Gender Sensitisation Internal Complaint Committee.
The complaint against the district judge dates back to March 2018.
“Despite a categorical finding of ‘no evidence’ and ‘no material to proceed in the matter’, the GSICC in an volte face action recommended disciplinary action against the petitioner as well as the complainant dehors the mandate of law contained in Sections10, 11 and 13 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013,” the plea filed by the district judge said.
The judge had an unblemished service record of 32 years and the action had been taken while he was in the zone of consideration for elevation, it said.
