New Delhi, Dec 18: The Supreme Court sharply criticized the rising pattern of judges issuing a barrage of orders right before retirement, likening it to a cricketer smashing sixes in the final overs of an innings. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, including Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, made these remarks while hearing a Madhya Pradesh principal district judge’s challenge against his suspension—imposed just 10 days before his original retirement date over allegedly dubious judicial decisions.
The judicial officer, slated to retire November 30, faced high court full court suspension on November 19 due to two contentious orders. Senior advocate Vipin Sanghi, representing him, highlighted the judge’s stellar service record with top confidential report ratings and questioned the move’s validity. “How can disciplinary action target judicial orders appealable to higher courts?” Sanghi argued, stressing that errors should be corrected through appeals, not suspensions. The bench broadly agreed, noting disciplinary probes rarely stem from mere judicial mistakes, though CJI Kant probed: “What if orders smack of dishonesty?”—distinguishing error from misconduct.
CJI Kant flagged the “unfortunate trend” without further comment, observing the officer passed disputed orders unaware of a November 20 apex court directive raising Madhya Pradesh judicial retirement from 60 to 61 years—pushing his exit to November 30, 2026. The bench questioned bypassing the high court for direct Supreme Court relief, reminding that full court decisions get overturned routinely, and frowned on the judge’s RTI applications for suspension details: “Senior officers should represent formally, not chase RTI.” Dismissing the petition, justices allowed a high court representation for suspension recall, mandating decision within four weeks—balancing accountability with judicial independence amid broader retirement age reforms.
