NEW DELHI: Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed Parliament Friday that 8,630 complaints have been received by Chief Justice of India against sitting judges of the Supreme Court and high courts since 2016.The frequency of the complaints has increased in recent times with 50% of all such grievances received in the last four years – between 2022 and 2025. According to information shared by the apex court with the law ministry, all 8,630 complaints against judges of the constitutional courts were received between 2016 and 2025.As per the established “in-house procedure” of the Supreme Court to handle complaints against the higher judiciary, the CJI is competent to receive complaints against judges of the Supreme Court and chief justices of high courts. Similarly, chief justices of high courts are competent to receive complaints against the conduct of high court judges, the law minister said. The complaints received by govt is also forwarded to the CJI, or the chief justices concerned, for further action.“Independence of judiciary is enshrined in the Constitution. The complaints received against judges and chief justices of the HCs are handled by the judiciary through an “in-house mechanism,” the law minister said in a written response to a question in Lok Sabha.The “in-house procedure” comes from two resolutions adopted by the SC in 1997, which provided for “the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life”, laying down certain judicial standards and principles to be observed and followed by the judges of the apex court and HCs. “The in-house procedure also provides for taking suitable remedial measures against judges who do not follow the universally accepted values of judicial life, including those in the restatement of values of judicial life.” Govt also receives complaints through its centralised public grievance redress and monitoring system, an online platform where citizens can file grievances against any public authority related to service delivery. This portal is also linked to all ministries and departments of the central and state govts.
