Apex court pulls up Karnataka judge for indiscipline
By IANSTuesday, June 15, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Tuesday pulled up Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court for breaching judicial discipline by using intemperate language and encroaching on the administrative authority of Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran.
The court made it clear that Justice Dinakaran, being the chief justice, enjoyed absolute authority in the administrative matters of the high court.
The apex court said: “It may be pertinent to mention that, presently, the chief justice of the high court is not taking up judicial matters but continues to function as chief justice for all purposes on administrative side including fixing rosters etc., which, according to us, is exclusively his prerogative.”
The vacation bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Deepak Verma and comprising Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan said that the way the division bench of the high court headed by Justice Shylendra Kumar conducted itself was in total variance with the guidelines of the Supreme Court which the judges were required to observe while dealing with judicial matters.
While sharing the “pain” of senior counsel Udaya Holla, Justice Verma said: “I have tears in my eyes.”
The apex court hoped that “better sense would prevail”. Holla, the former advocate general of Karnataka, represented the high court in the matter before the Supreme Court.
Staying the four impugned orders passed by the division bench headed by Justice Shylendra Kumar, the vacation bench said that details sought by the division bench “prima facie do not appear to be relevant and germane to the facts of the main matter which is being heard” by it.
The apex court issued notice which is returnable by the fourth week of July.
However, the apex court clarified that its stay of the impugned order would not hamper the division bench from hearing the matter concerning the orders of commissioner of customs on merits.
The court said that the details sought by the said division bench were not relevant to the effective adjudication of the matter before them.
Since the matter concerned judicial discipline, the court directed the registrar to bring it to the notice of the Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia.
The apex court also directed the registrar to inform the registrar general of the high court about its orders both telephonically and by fax.
