The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the dismissal of an Additional District Judge accused of corruption, stating that the position “comes with great responsibility, and he was obligated to conduct himself in a manner befitting his role.” The Administrative Committee (Higher Judicial Services) recommended his removal from service and a full court of HC endorsed it, following which the State Law and Legislative Department issued the removal order on September 2, 2014.
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Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the dismissal of Additional District Judge Nirbhay Singh Suliya, who faced allegations of corruption.
The court emphasized that the position
“comes with a great responsibility and he was under obligation to conduct himself in a manner befitting the post held by him.”
On July 25, a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf stated that Judge Suliya
“was under duty to conduct the proceedings of bail applications in conformity with the provisions of law. He extended the benefit of bail to some applicants relying on the pronouncement of the HC and refused to grant bail to others without considering those pronouncements.”
The High Court noted that various cases against Judge Suliya were examined “meticulously” by the inquiring authority. It was observed that
“in some of the cases bail was granted in a liberal manner without considering relevant provisions whereas in most of the cases, the same approach was not adopted which amounts to application of double standard.”
The allegations against Judge Suliya originated from a complaint filed on August 12, 2011, which accused him of engaging in corruption with the support of a stenographer in deciding bail applications related to offences under Section 34(2) of the Madhya Pradesh Excise Act.
It was alleged that Suliya had approved four bail applications despite the seized liquor quantity being more than 50 bulk litres, while he dismissed 14 similar bail applications.
The court remarked that even though there may
“not be direct evidence to show corrupt or improper motive by the judicial order, the bail orders reveal he had acted in a manner which cannot be approved whatsoever,”
and further added,
“the inference of improper motive and extraneous consideration was properly drawn against the petitioner.”
In 2013, the High Court issued a show cause notice to Judge Suliya, who refuted the allegations. Nevertheless, the inquiry authority concluded that the charge of adopting
“double standards in deciding bail applications stood proven against him,”
and forwarded the report to the High Court.
Subsequently, the Administrative Committee (Higher Judicial Services) recommended his removal from service, which was endorsed by a full court of the High Court.
Following this, the State Law and Legislative Department issued the removal order on September 2, 2014.
Judge Suliya challenged his dismissal through an appeal to the Madhya Pradesh Governor, which was rejected on March 17, 2016, leading to the current petition.
Judge Suliya began his judicial career in 1987 as a Civil Judge, Class II, and was later promoted to Chief Judicial Magistrate. In May 2011, after due selection, he was promoted to the Madhya Pradesh Higher Judicial Service at Entry Level and posted as Additional District & Sessions Judge, Khargon.
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