MUMBAI, APRIL 1: It is the familiar curtain of confidentiality and secrecy in the Bombay High Court, the seat of power where the decisions on erring Lower Court judges are taken. No official, in any capacity involved with the termination of the services of Additional Sessions Court Judge S R Jaiswal is willing to go on record on the reasons."The reasons were just as stated in the letter - he was found not to have completed his probation successfully," said a senior official with the High Court administration. More than this, nothing was forthcoming. The aspects which are considered for a successful completion of probation according to this official were: disposal rates of cases, quality of judgments and behaviour in the court with other officials and parties. It could be all of the above or any one in particular, was all the senior officer was ready to commit.Meanwhile, though the Bar in the city Civil and Sessions Court expressed no grievance at the termination, and some advocates claimed that there were complaints against him before the Special Investigation Department (SID) of the High Court, there was no confirmation on this.What SID officials were able to say was that in the related case of the suspension of Sessions Court Judge J W Singh, the departmental inquiry conducted following the investigation of the SID is still pending. No decision has been taken yet on whether the inquiry should be continued along with the trial or wait for it to get over, said legal sources.The SID, which investigates charges in complaints against judges in the lower judiciary in the entire State (more than 1,500 judges), began functioning since October 1, 1989. It receives around 350 to 400 complaints against judges, per year, from advocates, litigants and parties. In all its eleven years of functioning, it has been instrumental in taking action such as termination of services or suspension, or even forced resignation against 25 judges.
