The Supreme Court on Friday rolled back its earlier directive removing Justice Prashant Kumar of the Allahabad High Court from hearing criminal cases, following a request from Chief Justice of India BR Gavai. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan recalled the August 4 order after receiving a letter from the CJI urging it to reconsider its remarks and instructions against Justice Kumar. According to legal news website Bar and Bench, the court also deleted two key paragraphs from that order, which had directed the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice to take away Justice Kumar’s criminal roster.
“Since a request has been made by the CJI, we hereby delete paragraphs 25 and 26 from our August 4 order. We leave it to the Chief Justice of the High Court to look into the matter,” the bench said, stressing that the HC Chief Justice is “the master of the roster” and that the Supreme Court’s directions were not meant to interfere with administrative powers.
The judges clarified that their intention was never to “embarrass” Justice Kumar but to protect the dignity of the judiciary. “Whenever we come across legally unimpeachable orders that ensure complete justice, we have recorded appreciation for the judges. Whatever we said earlier was with a view to uphold the honour of the institution,” the bench observed.
August 4 Order
On August 4, the Supreme Court had strongly criticised Justice Kumar over a ruling that allowed criminal prosecution as an alternative means to recover money in civil disputes. Calling his reasoning “untenable”, the court set aside the High Court’s order in a commercial dispute case and directed that Justice Kumar be kept off criminal cases until his retirement, working instead in a division bench with a senior judge.
That decision sparked major backlash. At least 13 Allahabad High Court judges wrote to Chief Justice Arun Bhansali urging him to defy the Supreme Court’s directive, while some Supreme Court judges were also reported to have objected to the move. The matter, though disposed of, was relisted for hearing today.
The Case That Triggered It
The controversy stemmed from a plea by Shikhar Chemicals seeking to quash criminal proceedings over an unpaid balance of ₹4.59 lakh in a commercial transaction. The petitioner argued the matter was purely civil, but Justice Kumar dismissed the plea in May, noting that civil suits take years to conclude and that criminal prosecution was therefore reasonable.
The Supreme Court, however, disagreed, ruling that such reasoning could not stand and remanding the case to be heard afresh by another judge.
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