A Judicial Officer Is Not An Ordinary Government Servant & Must Be Above Suspicion: Allahabad HC [Read Order]

Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a judicial officer on grounds of misconduct, on the basis of two orders passed by her in land acquisition cases.In doing so, the bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Shabihul Hasnain observed, “A judicial officer is not an ordinary Government Servant and must be above suspicion. Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a judicial officer on grounds of misconduct, on the basis of two orders passed by her in land acquisition cases. It then approved the finding arrived at by the enquiry officers, observing, “The finding given by the Enquiry Officer about the wind fall gain made available to the claimants by the petitioner were absolutely shocking and since the same were not mere errors of judgment, but they are evident blunders deliberately by the petitioner, therefore, the Enquiry Officer had rightly concluded from the decision making process of the two orders of the petitioner that it was the result of extraneous considerations and the same was not mere error of the judgment therefore both the charges were rightly proved.” The court further pointed out that the scope of judicial review in matters relating to disciplinary enquiry is very limited, and that such interference is warranted only when there is no material for the conclusion arrived at by such enquiry. Opining that no case is made out in favour of the petitioner and thereby, dismissing the petition, the court finally observed, “The petitioner has utterly failed in justifying her conduct in discharging her judicial functions and in deciding the two Land Acquisition References, in the most reckless and arbitrary manner, which were bereft of all judicial propriety and since it amounted to misconduct under the Conduct Rules, therefore, the finding of the Enquiry Officer in proving the aforesaid two charges cannot be negated.” Read the Order Here