In a bid to evaluate the functioning of the subordinate judiciary, judges of the Delhi High Court made surprise visits to district courts in the capital this morning.

A task force headed by Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Gita Mittal today made a surprise visit to the Patiala House court complex. Similar inspections were carried out by other judges of the High Court; Justice Ravindra Bhat visited the Tis Hazari complex, Justice Sanjiv Khanna went to the Rohini courts, Justice GS Sistani showed up at Karkardooma, Justice S Muralidhar at Saket, and Justice Vipin Sanghi went to the Dwarka courts.

The inspections were conducted with a view to keeping tabs on the judges of the district courts. According to sources, a majority of judges were found coming late to court. The judicial officers were found to be arriving post 10:30 AM, beyond the stipulated time of 10:00 AM.

A list of these officers has been drawn, with strict action likely to be taken against them.

The Delhi High Court has in the past few months taken a strict stance on laxity and impropriety in the subordinate judiciary. Earlier this month, Additional Sessions Judges Raj Kapoor was retired, as per the decision of the Full Court headed by Mittal J. He was earlier transferred to the Tis Hazari complex for granting bail to the Unitech developers.

A couple of weeks ago, Nitesh Gupta – who was set to take charge as Metropolitan Magistrate in Tis Hazari – was similarly made to demit office. The son of former Delhi High Court judge VP Vaish, Gupta was retired after he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation with respect to interest free loans taken by him to the tune of Rs. 5.73 crore.