Kerala HC Advocates Association Writes To CJ Over Alleged Misconduct/Misbehavior By Justice A. Badharudeen

The allegation was that on February 14, 2024, Justice Badharudeen had denied adjournment in a case to Advocate Jayakumar Namboodiri on medical grounds. It was stated that Advocate Jayakumar Namboodiri appeared before the Court at 10.15 am and sought an adjournment since he was suffering from a serious back injury.

Despite his request, the complaint points out that the judge 'insensitively stated' that his matter would be heard, and adjournment was denied. The letter states that Advocate Namboodiri was compelled to come back from the hospital later in the afternoon to argue the case, and the judge inconsiderably adjourned the matter for next week. He alleges that he had to face humiliation despite making a genuine request seeking adjournment due to serious health issues.

The Association, in their complaint, also stated that several advocates present in the courtroom that day had confirmed the insensitiveness shown by Justice Badharudeen against Advocate Namboodiri in open court.

Further, the Association also stated that there were several other complaints against Justice Badharudeen like posting the matters in the supplementary list in the morning without giving prior information to the advocates. It was alleged that many cases were dismissed by Justice Badharudeen for non-representation due to lack of intimation to the advocates.

Relying upon Apex Court decisions, the Association stated that the Bench was also an integral part of the judicial system. The Association mentioned the decision in C Ravichandran Iyer v Justice A M Bhattacharjee (1995) to state that bad behaviour of one judge has a crippling effect on the reputation of the judiciary as a whole.

The Association thus requested mandatory video recording of all proceedings before all Courts in the High Court. Accordingly, they sought an effective resolution of their grievances.