SC Stays Lokpal Order On Right To Probe HC Judges

New Delhi: A special bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice B R Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Abhay S Oka, on Thursday suspended the order that high court judges would not come under the purview of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

On January 27 this year, the Lokpal had ordered that it could probe complaints against high court judges.

Terming this order as ‘very disturbing’, the SC bench held that the appointment of high court judges is governed by the Constitution and they are not any other ‘public servant’ functioning in an organisation established by a law passed in Parliament.

While issuing notices to the Government of India and the Lokpal, the top court also restrained the complainant who had approached the Lokpal in the first place, from disclosing the name of the high court judge against whom allegations of unfairly influencing an additional district judge and another high court judge have been made.

The Lokpal, while passing its order on January 27, had relied on pre-Constitution provisions that allowed scrutiny of high court judges.

“Now that the Constitution has come into force, where is the question of referring to those old provisions? All the high court judges are appointed under the Constitution. We have stayed the order. We hope the Lokpal understands the order of stay and does not proceed. Otherwise, we are here,” the SC observed.

“Issue notice to the Union government and the office of the Lokpal. The impugned order of the Lokpal is stayed. The complainant is also put to notice and he is directed not to disclose the names of the judge against whom the complaint was made and that he would not indulge in more complaints against the same judge,” it further stated.

The complainant had informed the Lokpal that a certain high court judge was allegedly attempting to influence the additional district judge and another high court judge on behalf of a private company that had been his client when he was a lawyer.

The apex court took suo motu cognizance of this and received support from both Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Kapil Sibal.

While Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted that “a high court judge would never come within the ambit of the Lokpal Act,” Sibal said: “Such an interpretation by the Lokpal is fraught with danger.”

The SC bench then sought the assistance of the two senior lawyers and scheduled the next hearing for March 18.