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New Delhi: Chief Justice BR Gavai on Monday expressed his disappointment over the growing trend of making defamatory allegations against judges, noting that such acts often arise when judgements do not favor a particular party. The Chief Justice, who is set to retire on November 23, made these remarks while hearing a contempt of court matter in the N Peddi Raju case.
In the case, the Supreme Court had accused N Peddi Raju of making malicious comments against a Telangana High Court judge, Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya. The matter was ultimately closed after senior advocate Sanjay Hegde informed the court that Justice Bhattacharya had accepted Raju’s apology. However, Chief Justice Gavai made it clear that he was not pleased with the trend of such allegations.
Gavai emphasised that such practices must be strongly condemned. The bench referred to past observations by the court: “This court, as far back as 1954, had observed that lawyers, as officers of the court, owe a duty to the court. The majesty of law does not lie in punishment but in forgiving when an apology is made. Since the learned judge of the High Court, against whom allegations were made, has accepted the apology, we will not proceed any further.”
He further cautioned, “However, we will add that lawyers, as officers of the court, must be careful before signing pleadings which make allegations against judges of any court.”
Earlier in July, the Supreme Court had issued contempt notices to Raju and his lawyers for including scurrilous allegations against the Telangana High Court judge in their petition. While issuing show cause notices, the apex court said that it would not permit any litigant to make such allegations against a judge. In a case involving Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The minister received relief from the High Court in a matter under the SC/ST Act. The case involves the High Court's decision to reject a criminal case. However, the petitioner later approached the top court with a transfer plea, alleging discrimination and impropriety on the part of the Telangana judge.
