New Delhi: The Union government said on Friday that complaints against judges of the higher judiciary are dealt with under an “in-house mechanism” evolved by the judiciary, with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and Chief Justices of High Courts competent to examine such grievances.
Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State (MoS) for Law and Justice (Independent Charge), Arjun Ram Meghwal, said that the independence of the judiciary is enshrined in the Constitution and complaints are handled internally as per established procedures.
“Independence of Judiciary is enshrined in the Constitution of India. The complaints received against Judges and Chief Justices of the High Courts are handled by the judiciary through an ‘in-house mechanism’,” the MoS said in a written statement laid on the table of the Lok Sabha.
Meghwal, who is also the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, told the House that the Supreme Court, on May 7, 1997, adopted two resolutions — “The Restatement of Values of Judicial Life” and the “In-house procedure” — to lay down judicial standards and provide for remedial measures against judges who do not adhere to accepted values.
As per the established in-house procedure for the higher judiciary, the CJI is competent to receive complaints against judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of High Courts, while Chief Justices of High Courts are empowered to receive complaints against High Court judges.
“Complaints against members of the Higher Judiciary received vide Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) or in any other form are forwarded to the Chief Justice of India or Chief Justices of High Courts competent to receive such complaints,” MoS Meghwal said.
Sharing data provided by the Supreme Court, the MoS added that the number of complaints received in the office of the CJI against sitting judges over the last 10 years stood at 729 in 2016, 682 in 2017, 717 in 2018, 1,037 in 2019, 518 in 2020, 686 in 2021, 1,012 in 2022, 977 in 2023, 1,170 in 2024 and 1,102 in 2025.
The Union government did not indicate any proposal to introduce a separate mechanism beyond the existing in-house procedure, reiterating that complaints received through the CPGRAMS or any other mode are forwarded to the CJI or Chief Justices of High Courts competent for appropriate action.
(IANS)
