Where Eagles Dare | The Last Word

The Chief Justice of India bears a significant moral responsibility to ensure, Judiciary functions in a transparent, efficient and constitutionally appropriate manner. The Chief Justice of India is clearly an important person in maintaining institutional interest and credibility. The Chief Justice of India owes a duty to keep our justice delivery system pure, clean and unpolluted.

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We see no hesitation to say, the CJI is not a mere post office between the Committee and the President/the Prime Minister. We say no justification to hold, in forwarding the Report of the Committee, the CJI may not give his views. We repeat, the Office of the CJI is not be regarded as a post office.

We hasten to add, where the Committee (constituted by the CJI) finds substance in the allegations and the misconduct found is serious enough, the CJI does have the authority to endorse such finding while forwarding the Report of Inquiry. If the CJI has reiterated the finding of the Committee and has recommended Proceedings for Removal of XXX from Office, such a recommendation cannot be impeached on any valid and legal ground.

We are unaware what the CJI remarked while forwarding the Report of the Committee. If any, it is for the eyes of the President and the Prime Minister alone and not anyone else. The Report of the Committee being preliminary in nature, ad hoc and not final, nothing much turns on it. If, the Report of the Committee is relied upon at a future stage, XXX would be free to exercise his rights as are available in law.

– Hon’ble Justice Dipankar Datta, XXX v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 699 of 2025].