SC says ‘shocking orders’ shake public faith in judiciary

The Supreme Court of India said “shocking orders” by judicial officers can erode public faith in the judiciary while hearing a plea by the former in-charge chairman of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal against a Gujarat High Court directive seeking his removal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said a “shocking order” passed by the court shakes the faith of people in the judiciary. The observation came from a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi which was hearing a plea challenging an order asking the Gujarat government to issue appropriate instructions directing the in-charge chairman of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal to step down on administrative leave.

The apex court was hearing a plea challenging a September 2024 order of the Gujarat High Court. The high court had noted that the then in-charge chairman of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal had passed two “diametrically different orders” in 2024, more particularly on the aspect of condonation of delay in a matter.

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“It shocks our conscience the manner in which he (in-charge chairman) dealt with the two applications,” the top court observed, while hearing the plea filed by the then in-charge chairman of the tribunal. “What happens is, if you pass a wrong order, it is okay… But if you pass a shocking order, it shakes the faith of people in the judiciary,” the bench said.

The top court agreed to hear the plea and issued notice to the respondents. The counsel appearing for the petitioner said the judicial officer was a retired principal and district judge with an unblemished service record.

When the bench referred to the two orders, the lawyer said it was an “error”. The lawyer argued that when the judicial officer was sitting on his dias and hearing matters, he was told to step down. “We are issuing notice. Let the state come,” the bench said.

The high court had passed the order while hearing the pleas challenging the May 2024 and April 2024 orders passed by the in-charge chairman of the tribunal. It had noted that before the tribunal, a common order passed by the deputy collector in August 1996 in a tenancy appeal was under challenge.

The high court had said that in the April 2024 order, the order passed by the deputy collector was not interfered with on the ground that there was no reason mentioned for the delay of 22 years in challenging it.

It had said in the order passed in May 2024 that the tribunal had condoned the delay without there being a separate application for condonation of delay. When the high court was hearing the matter, the advocate general had said that the state was looking into the issue very seriously at the highest level.

“In this view of the matter, since the State is looking into the matter at the highest level, to this court, it would appear that the State should instruct the concerned member not to take up any further matters till the State finally opines whether the orders passed were justifiable or not,” the high court had noted.
The high court had set aside both the orders passed by the tribunal terming them as “unsustainable”.

“The State, i.e. the secretary, revenue department, shall also ensure that appropriate instructions to the in-charge chairman, Gujarat Revenue Tribunal, are issued before the end of the day, directing him to step down on administrative leave during the State takes an appropriate decision into his conduct as a chairman of the tribunal concerned,” the high court had said. It had said its observations were prima facie and the same should not be treated as the court having finally suggested as regards the conduct or competence of the member in question.