'Manifests savarn and shudras': MP HC flags 'caste system' in judiciary; calls out feudal mindset

Time of India

2 days ago

MP high court
NEW DELHI: The Madhya Pradesh high court has made strong observations on the existing structure of the judiciary in the state, comparing the relationship between high court judges and district judges to that of "feudal lord and serf.
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The court also criticised what it described as a "caste system" within the judicial setup, where high court judges are seen as "savarn" and district judges as "shudras" and "les misérables."
A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and D K Paliwali made these remarks in its order dated July 14, while allowing a petition filed by Jagat Mohan Chaturvedi, a former special court judge. Chaturvedi had challenged his termination from service in 2015, which followed his decisions on bail pleas in the Vyapam scam and other cases.
He had granted bail to some and denied relief to others, and was later accused of holding divergent views on similar matters.
The court said, "At a subliminal level, the penumbra of the caste system manifests in the judicial structure in this state where those in the high court are the savarn and the shudras are the les Misérables of the District Judiciary."
"The dismal relationship between the judges of the high court and the judges of the District Judiciary is one between a feudal lord and serf.
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The feudal state of mind that still exists in the state, results in its manifestation in the judiciary also," the bench said.
The court noted that such a structure creates fear and a sense of inferiority among district judges. It said, "Experience at Bar gives this Court the wisdom to arrive at the opinion that the District Judiciary functions under the perpetual fear of the high court. Like this case, where the Petitioner was terminated from service on account of passing bail orders in favour of the applicants, the message that goes down to the District Judiciary by such acts of the High Court is that acquittals recorded in major cases or bails granted by the Courts below the High Court, can result in adverse action against Judges passing such orders, though they are judicial orders.
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It added, "It is precisely cases like this that result in a large number of bail applications pending before the high court as also the criminal appeals."
The bench also observed that "instances of the judges of the district judiciary personally attending to judges of the high court are commonplace as also the latter not offering a seat to the former, thereby perpetuating a colonial decadence with a sense of entitlement."
On Chaturvedi's dismissal, the court said the case shows a "malady that cannot be addressed effectively on account of the social structure existing in the State, which also manifests in the judiciary." It said the termination affirms the belief that trial court judges may face consequences for granting relief to accused persons.
The order of Chaturvedi's dismissal was issued on October 19, 2015. His appeal was dismissed on August 1, 2016. The division bench has now quashed the termination order and imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on the state government through the principal secretary, Law and Legislative Department, and the MP high court registrar general. The court said Chaturvedi had to face humiliation in society without any evidence of corruption presented against him.