New Delhi: Following a heated exchange between a lawyer and a Rohini district court judge inside a courtroom, a video of which was widely circulated on social media, the Delhi High Court Sunday passed an order relieving the involved judge of judicial work across Delhi’s district courts.
Justice Rakesh Kumar has now been attached to the office of the director of the Delhi Judicial Academy. He will be replaced by district judge Dheeraj Mittal, who was previously posted as an additional director at the academy.
The order—signed by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay, other high court judges and the Registrar General—came after the Coordination Committee of All District Court Bar Associations in Delhi suspended all judicial work across Delhi’s district courts.
The incident sparked protests within the legal fraternity after the video clip purportedly showing the judge having a heated exchange with the Rohini Court Bar Association President was widely shared on social media Saturday.
Describing the judge’s conduct as “highly objectionable and unbecoming”, the coordination committee had also come out with a circular saying that his actions had caused “deep resentment and serious concerns” among all members of the District Court Bar.
The committee sought the judge’s transfer, with immediate effect, along with an inquiry into his conduct. The committee of all district court bar associations in Delhi had also asked all lawyers to abstain from work on Monday “to uphold the legal fraternity’s dignity and independence”.
‘Unauthorised clips’
The Judicial Service Association of Delhi, Tis Hazari court, also issued a statement Sunday, condemning what it described as “the shocking incident involving the illegal recording” of judicial proceedings and its deliberate circulation on social media.
“The clandestine recording of judicial proceedings and making it viral on social media platforms is not just gross impropriety but also a direct assault on the dignity, independence and majesty of the judicial institution,” it read.
It added that such “reckless and unlawful acts are done to scandalise the courts” and undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.
While strongly criticising the judge’s conduct as “unwarranted intimidation”, the association also opposed any boycott of work, pointing to the Delhi High Court’s early intervention in the matter.
“Any strike or boycott is wholly contrary to the settled law,” their statement says, while adding that strikes could cause grave detriment to the administration of justice.
“The conduct of certain members of the Bar is openly threatening, intimidating and attempting to browbeat judicial officers in discharge of their lawful duties, is deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable in a constitutional democracy,” the Tis Hazari court association said in its statement.
Advocate Anil Basoya, secretary of Saket Bar Association, told ThePrint that the
association is full in solidarity with the Co-ordination Committee in observing complete abstention from judicial work Monday to protest the unacceptable conduct of the judicial officer.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)