"Supreme Court Overturns Kerala HC's Orders for Disciplinary Action Against Lakshadweep Judicial Officer"

The Supreme Court recently overturned the orders for disciplinary action against a Judicial Officer, pointing out that the Kerala High Court did not consider the necessary records in the case when it decided to suspend and investigate him. The Supreme Court declared that this made the disciplinary proceedings legally invalid. The case involved a suspended Sub-Judge-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate of Lakshadweep. The Kerala High Court had received petitions from 11 convicted persons, claiming that he had issued a conviction without properly examining the Investigating Officer or allowing the accused to cross-examine witnesses. On December 14, 2022, the High Court initially asked for records from the Lakshadweep court but then ordered the officer's suspension and investigation on December 23, 2022, without having reviewed those records. The officer's attempts to challenge this decision in review petitions were only partly successful, as the High Court itself became the Disciplinary Authority. The officer then approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the High Court's order for his suspension and inquiry on December 23 was made without even receiving the requested records. The Supreme Court found that the records were only received on December 26, 2022, three days after the suspension order. The Supreme Court concluded that the disciplinary action against the officer was based on an invalid order because the required records were not reviewed before the decision was made. It set aside the High Court's orders and restored the original petitions, directing the Chief Justice of the High Court to handle them promptly. Case Title: K. CHERIYA KOYA VERSUS MOHAMMED NAZER M.P. & ORS. ETC., SLP (CRL.) NO(S).11916-11919/2023 www.legalmeet.in