The credibility of judges is crucial in building public confidence in the judicial delivery system. Judges having the highest moral base play a vital role in upholding public trust in the judicial system. The common man's perception of the credentials and background of a judicial officer is important. The Supreme Court made this remark while hearing a petition challenging the decision of the Rajasthan High Court.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and PS Narasimha observed that the position of a judicial officer is very important at any level in the judicial system. Therefore, only suitable persons should be appointed to the post of a judicial officer. People with criminal backgrounds should be kept away from the judiciary.
The bench was hearing a petition challenging the decision of the Rajasthan High Court. The High Court had accepted the petition of a candidate applying for the post of Civil Judge, while a High Court Committee on Appointment of Judges in the lower courts had observed that the offenses against the candidate were serious and the acquittal was not clear. Thereafter his candidature was rejected.
The top court said that the post of a civil judge or magistrate holds an important place as a large number of dispute cases come up in the lower courts of the country.
The bench, in its judgment on September 16, said that the most suitable person should be appointed to the post of a judicial officer at any level in the judiciary. The reason for this is clear. One of the most important functions of the state is the resolution of dispute cases involving citizens. Judges with the highest moral grounds play a vital role in building people's trust in the judicial system.
The bench said that several FIRs were registered against the candidate in this case. Chargesheet was filed in two of them. The candidate was indeed acquitted, but that does not mean that there was no evidence against him. Along with this, the bench set aside the decision of the Rajasthan High Court.
What was the matter?
Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur had invited applications for filling up the post of Civil Judge in November 2013. The candidate also applied. The High Court committee constituted by the Chief Justice in July 2015 considered the applications of 12 candidates. In this, the application of the said candidate was not found suitable for appointment. Later, the High Court accepted the petition of the candidate against the decision of the committee. Against this, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court.
