Supreme Court quashes Rajasthan High Court inquiry into judge's bail order

The Supreme Court had to decide whether the High Court was justified in initiating a formal inquiry under service rules.

Who it concerns: Petitioner: Mukesh Tyagi (Retired Special Judge); Respondents: State of Rajasthan and others (including the High Court of Rajasthan); Bench: Justice B.V. Nagarathna, Justice R. Mahadevan, and Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya.

What the court decided

• Dismissed the Special Leave Petitions (Diary Nos. 58089/2024 and 58123/2024) challenging the High Court's bail cancellation order.
• Allowed the Writ Petition (W.P.(Crl.) No. 524/2024).
• Quashed the Memorandum dated 25.10.2024, the statement of charges under Rule 16 of the Rajasthan Civil Services Rules, and the allegation of charge.
• Directed the State and High Court to re-compute the petitioner's pay as per the revised pay scale.
• Ordered the release of terminal benefits, including pension and arrears of pension and pay, within three months if no legal impediment exists.
• Disposed of all pending applications, including those for condonation of delay.

Also in the document

• The Court found that initiating a formal inquiry was not required and that counseling, warning, or an entry in the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) would have sufficed.
• The Court noted that the petitioner's ACR was positive and he was a good officer.
• The petitioner retired on 31.03.2026, and his terminal benefits had not been released at the time of the order.
• The Court clarified that the order was passed based on the peculiar facts of this specific case.