P&H High Court Restrains DRT Judge From Passing Adverse Orders After Bar Association's Complaint Of Harassment

The temporary restraint comes in light of complaints regarding the Officer's alleged rude behaviour with Advocates and long adjournment of cases, some even beyond the year 2026.

Taking note of the "serious allegations" against the Officer and his "severally strained" relationship with the Bar Association, the division bench of Justices MS Ramachandra Rao and HS Madaan ordered,

"the 4th respondent (Presiding Officer) is restrained from today from passing any adverse orders in any of the cases (OAs or SAs) pending before the 3rd respondent Tribunal of which he is the Presiding Officer, till the next date of hearing."

The DRT Bar Association alleged that the Presiding Officer harassed counsels appearing both for financial institutions and borrowers etc. It also produced before the Court an order passed by the Presiding Officer, adjourning a matter of 2021, where the respondent had become ex-parte, to 2026. It was asserted that there are several such orders passed by him.

In order to register its protest, the Bar had even gone on a strike from October 26 and the counsels are not appearing before the concerned Presiding Officer.

While the High Court did not appreciate the conduct on the part of the members of the Bar Association going on strike, however, it passed the above interim order to prevent any "wholesale dismissal" of cases pending before the Presiding Officer concerned.

Click here to read/download the order