A look back at the judiciary’s most controversial moments this past year.
On March 14, 2025, a blaze at the official residence of then Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma caused India’s higher judiciary to come under fire. Images and videos of burning cash recovered from the site were symbolic of the public’s eroding trust in the courts.
The fire may have been doused that evening, but its smoke continues to hang in the air. Much like Delhi’s infamous PM10 and PM 2.5.
However, 2025 didn’t see the judiciary fighting just one fire. It moved from one controversy to another right until the end of the year. Here, we look at the judiciary’s most controversial moments of the year.
Blaze of (no) glory
After his transfer from the Allahabad High Court in October 2021, Justice Varma established a distinct presence in Delhi by delivering verdicts of seminal importance. He did not shy away from writing judgments that were lengthy and often complex in their drafting. Ironically, he now finds himself at the centre of a verdict that is equally lengthy and complex, but this time, he is not the author.
A three-member committee constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker under the Judges (Inquiry) Act is probing the allegations relating to the discovery of cash at Justice Varma’s residence. On the other hand, Justice Varma has moved the Supreme Court alleging irregularity in the initiation of the impeachment proceedings and the constitution of the probe panel.
Of hot-headed lawyers and flying shoes
Politicians are often seen being hit with shoes by angry members of the public. For a judge to face something similar in his own courtroom, however, is a rarity.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai experienced just that when a lawyer, emboldened by right-wing rhetoric, threw a shoe towards him in the Supreme Court’s first courtroom. The attack was reportedly in reaction to an oral remark attributed to CJI Gavai during a case seeking the restoration of a seven-foot idol of Lord Vishnu at Khajuraho.
CJI Gavai showed magnanimity by choosing not to act against the lawyer. Unlike his predecessor, CJI Gavai may not have been worried about the legacy he would leave after retirement. Yet, given that two trial court judges faced similar shoe attacks weeks later, he might have considered whether a non-personal and institutional response was needed to deter such brazen acts inside India’s apex court.
Lungs aflame
Just days after the shoe-throwing incident, a CJI Gavai-led Bench permitted so-called green firecrackers to be burst in the National Capital Region (NCR) during Diwali, departing from the strict stance adopted by the Court in view of the capital region’s abysmal air quality. Beyond the legal arguments lay the unmistakable rhetoric around the right to celebrate a religious festivity at any cost. Yet, the Court proceeded to allow the fireworks. The burden today continues to be borne by the city’s lungs.
Since then, Delhi’s air quality has continued to remain abysmal (it occasionally improves to poor). Of course, there are multiple factors at play and the Supreme Court’s changing stance on firecrackers is not the sole cause. What remained troubling, however, was that despite a situation demanding urgent intervention, the Supreme Court did not make the air pollution case a priority for weeks.
What magic wand can a judicial forum exercise? CJI Surya Kant asked recently. The answer was perhaps obscured in the polluted air itself – where do citizens turn when neither the executive appears unwilling to act?
Emergency exits?
Transfers are said to be incidental to service, or so we are told. 2025 saw a series of transfers of High Court judges across India. In all, 6 Chief Justices and 41 judges were transferred. While some moves were routine, others remained shrouded in mystery.
Much like the rest of the national capital, the Delhi High Court now has the privilege of outside talent. 10 of its judges including the Chief Justice come from different parts of the country. An anguished Bar circulated many representations in protest, yet no one told us why a judge from the Rajasthan High Court was sent back within weeks of his arrival in Delhi. Perhaps, a different kind of fire was at play.
Similar is the case with the out-of-turn elevation of Gujarat High Court Justice Vipul Pancholi to the Supreme Court, where there was no dearth of Gujarati talent on the Bench. Justice BV Nagarathna had opposed the move, but the Central government wasted no time to approve the Collegium recommendation. Justice Pancholi is slated to become CJI in October 2031.
Calcutta High Court Justice Joymalya Bagchi was elevated to the Supreme Court, superseding several senior judges across High Courts. The Collegium explicitly justified the recommendation on the ground that Justice Bagchi would assume office as CJI in 2031, noting that no judge from the Calcutta High Court has held the position since the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir in 2013.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/columns/no-smoke-without-fire-indias-judiciary-in-2025
