CJI Office Received 8,630 Complaints Against Sitting Judges in Decade

New Delhi: The office of the Chief Justice of India received 8,630 complaints against sitting judges over the past decade, the Ministry of Law and Justice informed Parliament on Friday, pointing to a fluctuating yet broadly rising trend in public grievances.

Responding to a Lok Sabha query, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the data reflects increased citizen complaints, particularly in recent years. While filings dipped during the pandemic — falling to 518 complaints in 2020 — the numbers rebounded sharply thereafter. Complaints peaked at 1,170 in 2024, followed by 1,102 in 2025, signalling sustained public scrutiny of judicial conduct.

Year-wise figures indicate 729 complaints in 2016 and 682 in 2017, rising to 717 in 2018 and surging to 1,037 in 2019. After the pandemic dip, filings climbed again — 686 in 2021, 1,012 in 2022, and 977 in 2023 — before reaching their recent highs.

Answering questions raised by MP Matheswaran V.S. on tracking judicial misconduct, the ministry clarified that the executive maintains limited oversight, citing the Constitution’s guarantee of judicial independence. Complaints are addressed through an “in-house mechanism” established by the Supreme Court in May 1997.

This internal framework operates on two guiding resolutions:

• the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life, setting ethical standards for judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts; and

• procedures for corrective action when those standards are not upheld.

Under the system, the Chief Justice of India receives complaints concerning Supreme Court judges and High Court Chief Justices, while respective High Court Chief Justices examine complaints against their own judges.

The government, though not directly maintaining complaint records, routes grievances through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) — a 24×7 digital platform linking citizens with public authorities. Complaints filed on the portal are forwarded to the competent judicial authorities, including the CJI or High Court Chief Justices, for consideration.

The ministry’s reply underscores the delicate balance between public accountability and institutional independence within India’s judicial framework — an issue that continues to shape debates on transparency and oversight.