FIR against a judge possible only after chief justice’s nod, Delhi high court tells litigant

NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned a litigant for filing a petition to seek permission to register an FIR against a judicial officer over alleged forgery in an order.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia reminded the petitioner and his counsel that an FIR can only be filed after the high court chief justice examines and gives the nod on the administrative side jurisdiction, and not by way of court proceedings.

The court underlined that a Supreme Court ruling mandates that an FIR against a sitting judge can be filed only after taking approval from the chief justice on the administrative side. It re-iterated that it can neither be sought nor granted in response to a writ petition.

The high court also clarified that filing a complaint and seeking permission for an FIR are two separate things. Even if a complaint is pending, approval is needed to lodge an FIR for which a representation can be made, which is decided by the chief justice.

The bench was hearing a plea in which the counsel of the petitioner alleged that a judge of the district judiciary had “concocted” an order of April 2024 to favour the opposite side, and despite repeated objections, refused to stop hearing the case.

After pointing out that such a petition can’t be used for giving permission to lodge an FIR, the high court objected to the litigant uploading a video of the trial court hearing on YouTube and warned him not to share court proceedings on social media.

The counsel for the state and Delhi Police also opposed the plea and said important facts were hidden from the court. He said that the order had already been challenged earlier.

The lawyer representing the high court administration also pointed out that the same litigant has made several similar allegations earlier which were submitted to the vigilance committee.

The court asked authorities to file details and will examine the matter again next week.