Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai and Justice Surya Kant have disapproved of the tendency of High Court judges to comment on the knowledge and capabilities of judges in lower courts. The CJI stated that High Courts are not subordinate to the Supreme Court as both are constitutional courts. The Supreme Court can only correct, modify, or quash orders of the High Courts. The Constitution does not grant the right to comment on the individual judges’ competence, capabilities, or knowledge of the High Court.
Justice Kant emphasized that judges of the High Courts should act as friends, philosophers, and guides for the judges of the lower courts. He stated that in the three-tiered judicial system, persuasion and guidance yield better results than criticism and reprimands. Justice Kant is set to be the next CJI, succeeding Gavai on November 24th.
The CJI and Justice Kant’s statements come in the wake of a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, criticizing an order of an Allahabad High Court judge, calling it the “worst and most incorrect” and criticizing them for preventing them from hearing criminal cases. The bench removed its instructions to remove the judge from the post and requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to consider the matter.
