SC Irks Over PIL Seeking In-House Inquiry Against Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Ranjan Gogoi

The Supreme Court on Monday has expressed strong disapproval regarding a Public Interest Litigation that named former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as a respondent, seeking an in-house inquiry against him for previously dismissing a plea related to a service dispute.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra questioned the appropriateness of filing a PIL against a sitting or former judge.

Chief Justice Chandrachud remarked, “How can you file a PIL with a judge as a respondent? There has to be some dignity. You cannot just say I want an in-house inquiry against a judge. Justice Ranjan Gogoi was a former judge of the Supreme Court.”

The Chief Justice emphasized, “You cannot say I want an in-house inquiry against a judge because you did not succeed before the bench. Sorry, we cannot tolerate this.”

The litigant had filed the PIL after his earlier plea regarding termination of services under labor laws was dismissed by a bench headed by Justice Gogoi, who has since retired.

At the outset, Chief Justice Chandrachud expressed irritation when the litigant responded with “ya-ya” instead of a formal “yes” during the proceedings. “What is this ‘ya-ya’? This is not the coffee shop. I am very allergic to this ‘ya-ya.’ This cannot be allowed,” the Chief Justice stated.

When the litigant described his case as one of “illegal termination,” the Chief Justice countered, “How can you file a PIL in a service matter after the dismissal of the petition and the review plea? You should have filed a curative petition.”

In an effort to clarify the legal issues, the Chief Justice communicated in Marathi and instructed the litigant to submit a statement to the Supreme Court registry indicating that he would remove Justice Gogoi’s name from the list of parties involved in the PIL.

“Will you delete Justice Gogoi’s name in the appeal against the lodgement of the MA (miscellaneous application)? Will you give this in writing? You delete first, and then we will see,” the Chief Justice concluded.

Justice Gogoi, currently a member of the Rajya Sabha, was the first individual from the northeast to serve as the CJI and is recognized for resolving the long-standing Ayodhya land dispute case. He retired from the position on November 17, 2019.