As the Supreme Court is the ultimate upholder of law and the Constitution and the highest dispenser of justice in the land, the country looks up to it in establishing exemplary standards in morals and ethics too. The 2013 law against sexual harassment in the workplace did not alter the 1999 decision of the court that three judges would hear such complaints against a Supreme Court judge. But the Supreme Court, or any court, is also a workplace, and the rules applicable to other workplaces should operate here too. A committee of three sitting Supreme Court judges who ultimately report to the CJI cannot be said to fulfil the requirement of neutrality implied by those rules. Such damage affects not just people’s trust but the moral authority of the Supreme Court as well.

Source: The Telegraph May 09, 2019 03:22 UTC