Supreme Court Stays Lokpal Order On Investigating High Court Judges

New Delhi, 20th February 2025: The Supreme Court on Thursday put a temporary hold on the January 27 Lokpal order, which asserted its authority to investigate complaints against sitting high court judges. The court described this development as “highly concerning.”

Taking suo motu cognizance of the Lokpal’s decision, a bench led by Justice B R Gavai, along with Justices Surya Kant and A S Oka, scheduled the matter for a hearing.

“This is extremely disturbing,” Justice Gavai remarked as the court issued notices to the Centre, the Lokpal, and the complainant.

The Supreme Court also directed its registrar judicial to “conceal the identity of the complainant and serve notice through the Registrar Judicial of the High Court where the complainant resides.” Additionally, the complainant was barred from revealing the name of the judge in question or disclosing any details of the complaint.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, argued that based on the interpretation of the “relevant provisions” cited in the order, high court judges do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Lokpal Act. He referenced constitutional provisions and previous judgments to support this stance.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal echoed the concern, stating that the situation was “highly alarming” and carried significant risks. He emphasized the need for legal clarification on the matter.

Justices Gavai and Oka underscored that, following the enactment of the Constitution, high court judges are recognized as constitutional authorities rather than statutory officials, contradicting Lokpal’s interpretation. Mehta further added, “Each judge is the high court.”

The Lokpal’s order, led by former Supreme Court judge Justice A M Khanwilkar, asserted that it would be “overly simplistic” to argue that a high court judge does not fall under the definition of “any person” as per Clause (f) of Section 14(1) of the Lokpal Act, 2013.

However, the Lokpal clarified that its ruling solely addressed whether high court judges fall under Section 14 of the 2013 Act. “We have not examined the allegations on their merits,” the order stated.

The Supreme Court is set to hear the case again on March 18.