The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by a former Principal District and Sessions Judge of Dimapur in Nagaland, challenging the departmental proceedings initiated against him over alleged misappropriation of Rs 14 lakh in cash surety deposits.
The partial working days Bench of Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice N Kotiswar Singh on Friday said that it would not interfere in such matters.
The judicial officer had earlier secured anticipatory bail in the same criminal case. He moved the Apex Court seeking relief in the disciplinary proceedings initiated by the High Court.
The Counsel appearing for judge Inalo Zhimomi submitted that disciplinary action stemmed from two judicial orders passed by Zhimomi in which he had directed release of seized vehicles and granted bail to a person.
When the lawyer sought to bring up the urgency of impending disciplinary proceedings, scheduled for the next day, the Bench said it would not interfere with the High Court’s decision.
While directing the judicial officer to face the disciplinary proceedings and come out clean, the top court of the country, however, granted him liberty to approach the High Court for relief.
The matter pertained to an FIR registered against judge Zhimomi under Sections 316(4)/(5) (criminal breach of trust), 337 (forgery of court record) and 3(5) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following directions of the Gauhati High Court.
The complaint alleged that Rs 14.35 lakh in bail amounts related to 28 criminal cases had been collected by the judge but not deposited. The FIR was based on a letter by the current Principal District Judge of Dimapur.
Zhimomi challenged the allegations, asserting that he had raised systemic concerns over cash surety procedures as early as 2013.
As per a writ petition pending before the Gauhati High Court, the judicial officer had, during his tenure as Chief Judicial Magistrate at Kohima, written to the Protocol Judge of the High Court, highlighting irregular practices in handling bail bond amounts.
Zhimomi was later posted as District and Sessions Judge at Mon, where he was suspended and issued a show-cause notice under the Nagaland Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1967. On March 25, he was compulsorily retired under Rule 20(2) of the Nagaland Judicial Service Rules, 2006.
The judicial officer has challenged the disciplinary process as being violative of natural justice and Supreme Court precedents. During the pendency of his writ petition, an Inquiry Officer was appointed by the Registrar (Vigilance), prompting Zhimomi to raise procedural objections about the legality of conducting disciplinary inquiry after compulsory retirement.
On May 29, the Gauhati High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. Zhimomi secured anticipatory bail from the Apex Court on June 17.
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