CJI Gavai Decries Trend of Scandalous Allegations Against Judges

• CJI BR Gavai criticised the rise in baseless allegations against judges when verdicts don’t favour litigants.
• The remarks came while hearing a contempt plea against N Peddi Raju for comments on Telangana HC judge.
• The case was closed after the judge accepted Raju’s apology, though CJI expressed disapproval.
• The Supreme Court reminded lawyers of their duty as officers of the court to uphold judicial dignity.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 10th Nov: Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Monday expressed concern over the increasing tendency among litigants and lawyers to make scandalous allegations against judges when court rulings do not go in their favour.

The Chief Justice, who is set to retire on November 23, made the remarks while hearing a contempt of court case involving N Peddi Raju, who had levelled scurrilous remarks against Telangana High Court judge Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya.

A Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Gavai closed the case after senior advocate Sanjay Hegde informed that the Telangana judge had accepted Raju’s apology. However, the Chief Justice cautioned against such behaviour, stating, “Such practices need to be strongly deprecated.”

Quoting an earlier judgment, the bench observed, “This court, as far back as 1954, had noted 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. And since the learned judge has accepted the apology, we will not proceed any further.”

However, the CJI emphasised, “Lawyers as officers of the court must be careful before signing pleadings which make allegations against judges of any court.”

Earlier, in July, the apex court had issued contempt notices to Raju and his counsel for making defamatory allegations against Justice Bhattacharya in their petition. The court, refusing to permit withdrawal of the plea, had remarked, “We cannot permit any litigant to make such allegations against a judge.”

The controversy stemmed from a case in which Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was granted relief by the High Court in a matter under the SC/ST Act. The petitioner, N Peddi Raju, had alleged bias and impropriety in the High Court’s decision to quash the criminal case and later sought a transfer of the matter to another court.

CJI Gavai’s observations underline the judiciary’s growing unease with attempts to undermine judges through baseless personal attacks, a trend that has drawn sharp concern from the country’s top court.