The Supreme Court on Thursday put a hold on Lokpal’s order asserting its jurisdiction to investigate high court judges. Expressing concern over the matter, the apex court also sought responses from the Centre, the Lokpal office, and the complainant involved in the case.

Case Background

As per a PTI report, the Lokpal had acted on two complaints against a sitting additional judge of a high court. The allegations suggested that the judge influenced an additional district judge in a case and that another high court judge was biased in favor of a private company, which had previously been his client when he was a practicing lawyer.

The Lokpal, in its order, had instructed that the complaints and related materials be forwarded to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for consideration. The directive stated that the evaluation of the complaints would be deferred for four weeks, awaiting guidance from the CJI, in compliance with Section 20(4) of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

The Lokpal bench, led by Justice A M Khanwilkar, emphasized that its decision only pertained to whether high court judges fall under the ambit of Section 14 of the 2013 Act, affirming that they do. However, it clarified that the merits of the allegations had not been examined.