The Supreme Court expunged the remarks made by a High Court judge against the top court and warned against any further acts of indiscipline.

The top five judges of the Supreme Court expunged unnecessary, unhelpful, and unwarranted remarks from Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Rajbir Sehrawat's July 17 order. The order had cast doubt on the majesty and wisdom of the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court, in order to avoid further damage to the institution's image, restrained itself and cautioned the judge instead.

The bench, consisting of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, agreed with Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that Justice Sehrawat had damaged the judiciary's image. They stated, "Observations (of Justice Sehrawat) of the nature which have proliferated in the video can cause incalculable harm to the sanctity of the judicial process."

The judge was not given a notice because doing so would put the judge in a position of being subject to a judicial adjudication or inquiry by the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of India-led bench ordered that the controversial remarks made by the High Court judge be removed, and also expressed hope that caution will be exercised in the future.

"However, this court has an obligation to ensure a fair adjudicatory process. Therefore, we must intervene by expunging the remarks, which we hereby do. The remarks in the July 17 order are henceforth expunged. We caution that this action may not be necessary in the future with respect to the same judge or any other judge."

Justice Sehrawat, who was appointed as a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 10, 2017, is set to retire on October 30. "To prevent any further damage to the reputation and majesty of the rule of law and the Supreme Court and also of this court, the impugned order dated July 17, 2024, passed by the single judge, shall remain stayed until the next date of hearing," a bench said.