High Court disciplinary control over judicial officers includes inquiry and suspension despite parallel sexual harassment proceedings.

Article 235 gives the High Court complete disciplinary control over subordinate judicial officers, including the power to initiate disciplinary proceedings and suspend an officer pending inquiry; the Governor's role arises only at the stage of dismissal, removal or reduction in rank. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 does not displace that constitutional control, so disciplinary action and suspension may proceed alongside the statutory complaint mechanism. Non-supply of a preliminary inquiry report that only recommended further inquiry did not vitiate proceedings where it was not the final report, was not relied on in the charge memo, and no prejudice was shown.

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Issues: (i) Whether the High Court was the competent disciplinary authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings against a judicial officer and place him under suspension. (ii) Whether the Full Court's decision to initiate inquiry and suspend the petitioner was beyond jurisdiction in view of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. (iii) Whether non-supply of the preliminary inquiry report dated 05.11.2016 vitiated the proceedings.

Issue (i): Whether the High Court was the competent disciplinary authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings against a judicial officer and place him under suspension.

Analysis: Article 235 vests complete disciplinary control over the subordinate judiciary in the High Court. That control includes the power to initiate disciplinary proceedings, hold inquiries, and suspend a judicial officer pending inquiry. The Governor's role is attracted only at the stage of dismissal, removal, or reduction in rank, not at the stage of initiation or suspension. The authorities relied upon by the petitioner did not dilute this settled position.

Conclusion: The High Court was competent to initiate disciplinary proceedings and to suspend the petitioner.

Issue (ii): Whether the Full Court's decision to initiate inquiry and suspend the petitioner was beyond jurisdiction in view of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Analysis: The Act of 2013 provides a mechanism for complaint, inquiry, and redressal of sexual harassment at the workplace, but it does not displace the High Court's constitutional disciplinary control over judicial officers under Article 235. The Act and the service disciplinary process can operate together. The Full Court was therefore not barred from initiating disciplinary action and placing the petitioner under suspension while the complaint was processed under the statutory mechanism.

Conclusion: The Full Court's action was not beyond jurisdiction.

Issue (iii): Whether non-supply of the preliminary inquiry report dated 05.11.2016 vitiated the proceedings.

Analysis: The report dated 05.11.2016 was only a preliminary report expressing an opinion that a disciplinary inquiry be held. It was not the final inquiry report contemplated by Section 13 of the Act of 2013, nor did it contain proved findings against the petitioner. The later inquiry report was supplied to the petitioner. Since the charge memo did not rely on the preliminary report and no prejudice was shown, non-supply of that report did not vitiate the proceedings.

Conclusion: Non-supply of the preliminary inquiry report did not vitiate the proceedings.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed on all the issues that were substantively examined, and the disciplinary process initiated by the High Court was upheld, leaving the petitioner free to pursue all remaining contentions in the pending inquiry.

Ratio Decidendi: The High Court's disciplinary control under Article 235 over subordinate judicial officers includes the power to initiate inquiry and suspend pending proceedings, and a preliminary complaint report expressing only a prima facie opinion need not be supplied where no prejudice is shown.

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