Not equipped to deal with judge’s misbehaviour, all options we have are soft options: Justice Roy

Justice Roy, who retired aft six years successful the apex tribunal Friday, spoke to The Indian Express connected judicial subject and the organization effect to the incidental wherever Allahabad High Court justice Shekhar Yadav made remarks targeting Muslims astatine a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event.

“But I indispensable adhd that this is conscionable 1 oregon 2 judges successful implicit 1,000 judges of law courts. Perhaps we made a mistake successful choosing a idiosyncratic but it’s not arsenic if everything is bad,” helium said. The Indian Express had reported connected January 9 that the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had initiated the process of an in-house enquiry against Justice Yadav, 2 weeks aft helium met the SC Collegium but refused to tender an apology.

“But whenever specified incidents happen, determination are a fewer options. Trying to counsel oregon speech to the individual, transfer, holding backmost work, the in-house enquiry process oregon impeachment. Even erstwhile you transfer, if the authorities does not privation it, determination are instances erstwhile it has not fixed effect to specified transfers,” said Justice Roy, who was a portion of the five-member Collegium.

Justice Roy has been portion of respective Constitution benches that delivered important verdicts. He was portion of the seat successful 2023 which held that a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India volition counsel the President connected appointments to the Election Commission of India until Parliament enacts a instrumentality connected the subject.

In November past year, Justice Roy penned a dissent successful the nine-judge seat verdict which held that not backstage spot is simply a “material assets of the community.”

When asked if judges who connected status oregon by resigning articulation authorities is simply a worrying trend, Justice Roy said that portion immoderate authorities would similar those “sympathetic to them” connected the bench, it does not payment to “interfere with the judiciary”.

“Any authorities tends to similar radical connected the seat who are sympathetic to their cause. It’s a earthy tendency. Judges with their acquisition tin equilibrium into the close thing, but the authorities indispensable besides realise that it is not forever. We are a antiauthoritarian country. Today, we person a government. Tomorrow, it could beryllium different government. A mature authorities wouldn’t interfere excessively overmuch with the judiciary. It does not payment them.”

In 2024, erstwhile Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned from his station and joined the BJP. He is present an MP from Tamluk successful West Bengal.

On the contention implicit erstwhile CJI D Y Chandrachud inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a puja astatine his residence, Justice Roy said that though helium is assured that “nothing of value was discussed successful that meeting,” it could person been avoided.

On his post-retirement plans, Justice Roy said that portion helium has “politely declined” offers from the government, helium is looking guardant to watching plays and being a backstage citizen.

“I was sounded retired a fewer months agone to gauge my involvement and I said no. I person politely declined erstwhile idiosyncratic from the authorities called maine arsenic well. I privation to beryllium a backstage idiosyncratic aft retirement. My contiguous task is to find rental accommodation and Delhi is an costly city, truthful I anticipation for nonrecreational enactment to prolong myself. Apart from that, I person my calendar marked retired for the theatre festival organised by the National School of Drama, which I volition spell see. When radical accidental they indispensable rise the status age, I accidental oh, no, not for me!,” helium said.

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd