"If There Exists Temple Of Justice...": Court Upholds District Judge's Dismissal

The Allahabad High Court has upheld the dismissal of a judicial officer accused of demanding dowry and attempting to influence a junior judge in the case.

If there exists a temple of justice, the judicial officers must act like its high priests, a bench comprising justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh said and stressed that a judicial officer who defiles his office merits no mercy.

Dismissing a writ petition filed by Umesh Kumar Sirohi, an additional district judge who was removed from service, the court said, "Any transgression committed by a judicial officer to extract benefit for himself or those to whom he may be closely related would always be dealt with severely".

In the present writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the penalty order passed by the state government dated April 16, 2021, whereby Sirohi - then serving as additional district and sessions judge, Lalitpur - was removed from service with immediate effect.

"Once the 'bad fish' is identified, it may not be retained in the 'tank'. No room may ever exist and no margin of error may be permitted as may allow any possibility for a judicial officer to seek to influence another judicial officer in the exercise of judicial function.

"If there exists a temple of justice, the judicial officers must act like its high priests who must not only conduct the rituals involving the discharge of their duties on the dais but they must zealously guard the purity of the temple itself," the court said.

The two charge sheets were issued against the petition by the administrative side of the High Court in 2016 and 2017.

In the first charge sheet, Sirohi was accused of demanding dowry for the marriage of his brother, also a judge, and inflicting an injury on his own hand as a conspiracy to implicate his brother's wife and her family.

Sirohi's wife had registered a police complaint in this regard against the sister-in-law and her family members, leading to the registration of a case against them.

Another allegation against Sirohi and his brother was that they had tried to influence the investigating officer in the matter by misusing their official position.

In the second charge sheet, it was alleged that Sirohi had tried to influence an additional chief judicial magistrate in the proceedings of the case registered by his wife. He was also accused of making false allegations of bias against the then district judge, Meerut.

In 2020, the High Court accepted the inquiry reports against Sirohi and recommended his dismissal from service. The state accepted the recommendation, leading to his removal from service, which is under challenge in the present writ petition.

After hearing the arguments and examining the records, the court concluded that a case of most serious misconduct had been made out against Sirohi.

The court noted that charges alleging efforts to influence the investigating officer and demand of dowry were found to be true. 

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