Telangana High Court judge Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya on Friday stated that attacks on judges irrevocably dent the dignity of courts as impartial arbiters of justice and affect public trust and confidence in the judiciary.
The judge was dealing with a Supreme Court-directed petition that ordered a litigant and his two lawyers to tender an unconditional apology to her for “scurrilous and scandalous allegations” made against her in a transfer petition filed before the top court.
In her order, accepting the apology from the three contemnors, Justice Bhattacharya underscored that while criticising a judgment is part of the legal process, personal attacks on a judge based on allegations of bias or “collateral motives” disrupt the trust between the court and its officers.
The judge also addressed a recent trend of “vilifying Judges”, where disgruntled litigants and lawyers make reckless allegations to intimidate and derail the justice system.
Stating that personal attacks on judges “breach the safety-net of impartial decision-making and are antithetical to independent judges”, she added, “Targeting of judges makes for sceptical and unsure judges.” Further, she opined that “the ‘majesty’ of a court is an inalienable part of the respect associated with upholding of the Rule of Law”.
She emphasised that contempt of court, including criminal contempt, includes any act that “scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court”. An expression of “sincere remorse”, she added, can cleanse such acts. She shared her observations by stating that the court’s authority comes from the power to “balance the scales of justice”, not from power to penalise or punish.
“Judgeship is never about the power of the chair but is always about the responsibility of disseminating justice with conscience, commitment and compassion. The common man should repose full faith and confidence in the courts. Fortunately, notwithstanding the occasional stresses and strains, courts continue to be the proud flag-bearers of justice,” the order concluded.
