Chandigarh, July 17: Reinforcing judicial independence, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that it alone is the competent authority to determine whether disciplinary proceedings should be initiated against a member of the superior judicial service.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel passed the ruling while dismissing a petition by a Ludhiana-based lawyer, who had challenged the closure of a preliminary enquiry into allegations he made against a Haryana judicial officer. The enquiry was closed in February 2023 by the administrative judge of Yamunanagar district, who reviewed the officer’s response and found it satisfactory.
“The administrative setup of the High Court has sufficient discretionary powers to assess whether the material—such as a complaint, the complainant’s affidavit, and the officer’s response—is adequate to initiate disciplinary action,” the bench observed.
The petitioner had also sought directions to the Haryana government to initiate proceedings and to withhold an integrity certificate for the officer. However, the court clarified that superior judicial service appointments and disciplinary mechanisms are governed by the High Court under constitutional provisions, even though the formal appointment is made by the state governor.
The bench emphasized that complaints against judicial officers are dealt with according to established protocols. These include obtaining the officer’s response and conducting a preliminary enquiry by the concerned administrative judge. In the present case, the administrative judge found no sufficient grounds to proceed further and closed the matter.
“Once such complaints are handled as per prescribed norms and a decision is taken to close the preliminary enquiry, it is not open to judicial review—except in cases of proven mala fides or fundamental rights violations,” the court said, while upholding the independence and self-governing framework of the judiciary.
