Without preparing entire judgment, judge can't pronounce its concluding portion in open court: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has ordered the sacking of a trial court judge in Karnataka, holding that a judicial officer cannot pronounce the concluding portion of a judgment in the open court without the entire text of the judgment having been prepared or dictated.
The SC direction came on a plea filed by the Registrar General of the High Court of Karnataka who had challenged the HC's division bench order on the judge's reinstatement by quashing the termination order passed by its full court.
Coming down heavily on the Karnataka High Court for "white-washing" serious charges, an SC bench of justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal said the conduct of the judge is unacceptable.
"It is true that some of the charges revolve around judicial pronouncements and the judicial decision-making processes and that they cannot per se, without anything more, form the foundation for departmental proceedings.
"Therefore, we are ignoring those charges. But the charges which revolve around gross negligence and callousness on the part of the respondent in not preparing/dictating judgments, but providing a fait accompli, is completely unacceptable and unbecoming of a judicial officer," the bench said.
The top court said the defence taken by the judge that the lack of experience and the inefficiency on the part of the stenographer has to be blamed was entirely unacceptable.
"But unfortunately, the High Court not only accepted this panchatantra (a false or improbable account) story, but also went to the extent of blaming the administration for not examining the stenographer as a witness. Such an approach is wholly unsustainable.
"If it was the case of the respondent that the entire blame lay upon the stenographer, it was for him to have summoned the stenographer as a witness. The High Court unfortunately reversed the burden of proof," the bench said.
The apex court said the high court was swayed unduly by the animosity attributed by the judge to a member of the local Bar and the assistant public prosecutor in granting him relief.
"We have not come across a case where the High Court, while setting aside an order of penalty, has held that there shall not be any further inquiry against the delinquent.
"But in this case, the High Court has done exactly the same, creating a new jurisprudence," the bench said.
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ED cracks down on suspected interstate liquor racket, raids 9 sites in Arunachal
Itanagar (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has carried out coordinated searches at nine locations across Arunachal Pradesh in connection with a suspected large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network, officials said on Monday.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an expanding probe that points to a syndicate exploiting tax differentials among states.
Officials said liquor designated for sale within Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly diverted and supplied illegally to markets in Assam and other states.
The searches, conducted earlier this week, spanned multiple towns such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Seppa, Ziro, Daporijo, Namsai and Roing, targeting wholesale liquor businesses suspected of being linked to the network.
According to officials, the investigation stems from a series of FIRs registered by Assam Police over the illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam.
Inputs from the Assam Excise Department further strengthened the case. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on October 17, 2024, and later widened through an addendum incorporating 173 additional FIRs.
Earlier searches conducted on February 4 last year, at premises linked to three alleged key operators, believed to be major liquor manufacturers, had revealed indications of a well-coordinated operation.
Investigators suspect that the network functioned through a chain of manufacturers, bonded warehouses and wholesalers, while masking real ownership using proxy arrangements such as tribal partnerships and dummy licence holders.
During the latest ED operations, the agency found that several wholesale units were operating under proxy licences issued in the names of local individuals, while actual control remained with the suspected masterminds.
Financial scrutiny revealed that between 51 and 90 per cent of total credits in certain bank accounts comprised unexplained cash deposits.
Investigators also flagged a pattern of invoice splitting, with transactions deliberately kept below Rs 2 lakh to avoid scrutiny. In one instance, more than 200 invoices of identical value of Rs 1,99,554 were generated within a single month at one location.
On-ground staff reportedly confirmed that records, including stock registers and daily cash collections, were being routed to offices associated with the alleged controllers.
The ED said it seized approximately Rs 40 lakh in unaccounted cash during the searches.
In a significant finding, 14 seals, some purportedly belonging to the Excise Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government, were recovered from one of the premises. These are suspected to have been used to create fake transport permits to facilitate the unauthorised movement of liquor.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
