A tense courtroom confrontation that exploded across social media has prompted the Delhi High Court to move Rohini district judge Rakesh Kumar out of active judicial work and attach him to the Delhi Judicial Academy.
The administrative reshuffle came shortly after Delhi’s district bar associations collectively called for a suspension of court work on Monday, escalating pressure over the incident that triggered outrage among lawyers.
In an order issued through the Registrar General, the High Court said the Chief Justice and companion judges had decided to attach District Judge-04 of North-West District, Rohini, to the Delhi Judicial Academy in a diverted capacity. Judicial responsibilities previously handled by Kumar will now be overseen by District Judge Dheeraj Mittal, who had been serving as Additional Director at the academy.
The controversy erupted after a video from the Rohini court complex began circulating online. In the clip, a lawyer — identified by members of the bar as a bar office-bearer — is heard accusing the judge of using offensive language during an exchange inside the courtroom. Voices rise sharply as the advocate objects to the alleged remarks and warns against disrespectful conduct, while the judge responds by telling the lawyer not to threaten him.
The episode quickly snowballed into a wider institutional dispute.
Following an emergency meeting, the Coordination Committee of All District Court Bar Associations, Delhi, described the judge’s behaviour as “highly objectionable and unbecoming.” The body demanded his immediate transfer from Rohini Courts, withdrawal of all judicial work and the initiation of a formal inquiry into his conduct.
The committee stated that, after extensive deliberations, it unanimously resolved to seek urgent administrative action against the judge, arguing that the incident had deeply disturbed the legal fraternity across Delhi’s district courts.
