Judicial Deviance In India: Causes, Consequences, And Corrective Mechanisms
- IJLLR Journal
- May 2
- 2 min read
Ritesh Raj V K, LLM, The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University
ABSTRACT
The judiciary protects constitutional values, protects individual rights, and protects democracy and the rule of law at an effective level. Judges have a huge power to rule and make decisions regarding law, adjudicate and resolve conflicts and achieve the fair and impartial application of justice. This responsibility is so high that a fair and responsible judiciary operates under such high standards of integrity, independence and professional ethics. But as with other bodies within the criminal justice system, the judiciary can be subject to deviant conduct. Cases of judicial misconduct (corruption, abuse of judicial discretion, bias, conflict of interest, and more) have sometimes arisen and have prompted questions about the accountability and credibility of the system of justice. Judicial impropriety can seriously erode the credibility of legal institutions by disrupting fairness in the adjudication and causing loss of prestige to the judicial system.
When judges’ conduct goes against common standards of morality and practice, these actions carry weight on a systemic scale, even in the form of actual loss or violation of due process, if they do anything that causes an unfair outcome. It is crucial to understand the role of judicial discretion (in our case, from the perspective of criminal justice administration) in the preservation of personal liberty, punishment and fundamental rights.
This paper will critically analyse the phenomenon of deviance by judges through its conceptual framework, different ways of its manifestation and the causes of it in general within the judicial system. It does so by examining what judicial misbehaviour means for the administration of justice and in turn serves as a basis against which public trust in legal institutions might be shaken. The article also assesses the mechanisms of judicial accountability, disciplinary procedures and safeguards currently in place to deal with and prevent court disorder. It is also an effort, by bringing home the tensions between independence and accountability in judiciary, to add to the growing number of articles which address strengthening ethics standards and institutional oversight of justice institutions so that the judiciary's integrity, credibility and legitimacy may be safeguarded.
Keywords: Judicial Deviance, Judicial Misconduct, Judicial Ethics, Abuse of Judicial Power, Judicial Accountability, Corruption in Judiciary, Rule of Law, Criminal Justice Administration.
