Top Court Slams Judge for Allowing Criminal Summons in Civil Dispute; Orders Immediate Removal from Criminal Bench
Unprecedented Action by the Supreme Court
In a rare and stern move, the Supreme Court of India has barred a sitting Allahabad High Court judge from hearing any criminal matters for the remainder of his tenure. This comes after the judge passed an order allowing criminal proceedings in a civil business dispute, which the apex court described as “one of the worst and most erroneous” they’ve encountered.
Key Directives from the Supreme Court
- Criminal matters removed from the judge’s roster until retirement
- Judge to only sit in a Division Bench with a senior judge
- No single-bench criminal cases to be assigned in the future
- Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court asked to reassign the matter immediately
The Controversial Case: Civil Dispute Turned Criminal
- Case Involved: M/S Shikhar Chemicals vs Lalita Textiles
- Nature of Dispute: Commercial transaction of ₹52.34 lakh
- ₹47.75 lakh paid
- ₹4.59 lakh pending
- Complaint Filed: Lalita Textiles lodged a criminal case for non-payment
- Lower Court: Issued summons based on complaint
- High Court: Refused to quash summons, prompting appeal to the Supreme Court
Top Court’s Scathing Remarks
The bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan issued strong observations, expressing shock at the High Court’s reasoning:
“The judge concerned has not only cut a sorry figure for himself but has made a mockery of justice.”
“We are at our wits’ end to understand what is wrong with the Indian judiciary at the High Court level.”
“Whether due to extraneous considerations or sheer ignorance of the law, such absurd orders are unpardonable.”
Violation of Legal Principle
The Supreme Court reiterated a well-settled legal principle:
Criminal law cannot be used as a tool to recover money in civil disputes.
Allowing this would amount to abuse of process of law, they stated.
Immediate Action Ordered by the Apex Court
- Case must be reassigned to another judge
- The judge in question must be monitored under a senior colleague
- Future criminal matters must not be allocated to him under any circumstance
Court’s Final Observation
The top court noted this wasn’t the first problematic order from the same judge. The bench lamented that it had encountered multiple questionable judgments from him in the past.
“It’s an extremely sad day for one and all to read the observations in the impugned order,” the bench remarked.
Summary
- Supreme Court removes Allahabad High Court judge from criminal jurisdiction
- Termed his order as one of the worst ever passed in a civil-criminal crossover
- Case stemmed from a business transaction, wrongly treated as a criminal matter
- Apex court’s action underscores serious judicial accountability
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