“There can be no rule of law, there can be no democracy unless there is a strong, fearless and independent Judiciary. This independence and fearlessness is not only expected at the level of Superior Courts but also from District Judiciary. Most litigants only come in contact with District Judiciary. They cannot afford to come to High Court or Supreme Court. For them the last word is the word of the Magistrate or at best the Sessions Judge. Therefore, it is equally important, if not more important, Judiciary at District Level and at Taluka Level is absolutely honest, fearless and free from any pressure and is able to decide cases only on basis of facts on file, uninfluenced by any pressure from any quarters whatsoever.

No doubt, there has to be zero tolerance for corruption and if there are allegations of corruption, misconduct or of acts unbecoming of a Judicial Officer, these must be dealt with strictly. In Ramesh Chander Singh v. High Court of Allahabad, (2007) 4 SCC 247 a Three-Judge Bench of this Court, after considering the entire law on the subject, including authorities referred to above, clearly disapproved the practice of initiating disciplinary proceedings against Officers of District Judiciary merely because Judgment/Orders passed by them are wrong.

We again reiterate, unless there are clear-cut allegations of misconduct, extraneous influences, gratification of any kind etc., disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated merely on basis of a wrong/incorrect Order passed by a Judicial Officer.”

– Hon’ble Justice Deepak Gupta, Krishna Prasad Verma v. State of Bihar, [Civil Appeal No. 8950 of 2011].