There was a senior District Judge in U.P. who had a very great reputation about his integrity. An Allahabad High Court Judge, who was a friend of mine, and the Administrative (Portfolio) Judge of that District Judge,had given him an adverse entry. I spoke to that High Court Judge ( myself being a Judge of the High Court at that time ), and said that the District Judge was regarded by everyone as a man of very high integrity, and the adverse entry would preclude his chance of becoming a High Court Judge. My friend admitted that he had made a mistake in awarding the adverse entry. I then said that since he admitted making a mistake, he should rectify the mistake, which he thereupon did by expunging the adverse entry. The District Judge then became a High Court Judge.
When I became the Acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court in August 2004, that District Judge who had become a High Court Judge because of me, had only a few months to retire. He was at that time hearing bail matters, and I received several complaints that he was taking money in deciding bail matters.
I called him one day to my chamber and said that he had had a great reputation for his integrity, and that is why I had helped him becoming a High Court Judge, but he was letting me down. I told him that several complaints were coming to me about him. When all his life he had maintained high standards of honesty, why was he destroying his reputation at the fag end of his career ?
He was silent on hearing me. I removed him from the bail jurisdiction and posted him in a bench with a senior Judge of high integrity, so that he could not do any more wrong.
There have been some( though very few ) High Court Judges whom I got recommended for Judgeship, who later turned out to be corrupt. I admitted later that I was responsible for their elevation, and so could be blamed for that, but I never knew at the time when I got them recommended that they would turn out to be corrupt. As lawyers they had a good reputation, and that is why i got them recommended. How could I predict that they would let me down ?
