The Patna High Court has removed adverse personal observations made by a district magistrate against a Sanskrit scholar during public-grievance proceedings.
The petitioner had complained that water from a government drain was entering his agricultural land. While rejecting his second appeal, the magistrate suggested that he had a mentality to harass neighbouring members of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities and ordered an inquiry.
The High Court held that quasi-judicial authorities must remain confined to the dispute before them and cannot add stigmatic, irrelevant or unsupported character assessments. Such remarks risk prejudicing later proceedings without notice or evidence. The observations were expunged, reinforcing the requirement of restraint and procedural fairness in administrative adjudication.
