Allahabad High Court Upholds Premature Retirement of Lower Court Judge

The Allahabad High Court has upheld the premature compulsory retirement of Judge Shobh Nath Singh, citing multiple complaints of corruption and dishonesty from 2009 to 2019. Despite being exonerated in two departmental inquiries, the judge received several negative entries in his Annual Confidential Report.

The Allahabad High Court has confirmed the premature compulsory retirement of lower court judge Shobh Nath Singh, citing persistent complaints of corruption and dishonesty spanning a decade from 2009 to 2019.

A bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi issued the ruling on Singh's petition challenging both the high court administrative committee's recommendation and the state's subsequent order for his retirement.

The judge, promoted to Civil Judge (Senior Division) in 2008, faced two departmental inquiries where he was exonerated but received several bad entries in his Annual Confidential Report, leading to the administrative committee's final decision of compulsory retirement citing his overall unsuitability for continued service.