Context: Two Supreme Court judges have recused themselves from hearing cases relating to West Bengal.

• Similarly, On June 21, Delhi High Court judge recused himself from hearing a plea by digital media houses challenging the validity of the IT rules regulating intermediaries.

About Recusal

• It is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer.

Why does a judge recuse?

• When there is a conflict of interest, a judge can withdraw from hearing a case to prevent creating a perception that she carried a bias while deciding the case.
• The conflict of interest can be in many ways — from holding shares in a company that is a litigant to having a prior or personal association with a party involved in the case.
• The practice stems from the cardinal principle of due process of law that nobody can be a judge in her own case.
• Any interest or conflict of interest would be a ground to withdraw from a case since a judge has a duty to act fair.
• Another instance for recusal is when an appeal is filed in the Supreme Court against a judgement of a High Court that may have been delivered by the SC judge when she was in the HC.

What is the process for recusal?

• The decision to recuse generally comes from the judge herself as it rests on the conscience and discretion of the judge to disclose any potential conflict of interest.
• In some circumstances, lawyers or parties in the case bring it up before the judge. If a judge recuses, the case is listed before the Chief Justice for allotment to a fresh Bench.
• There are no formal rules governing recusals, although several Supreme Court judgments have dealt with the issue.

Can a judge refuse to recuse?

• Once a request is made for recusal, the decision to recuse or not rests with the judge.
• While there are some instances where judges have recused even if they do not see a conflict but only because such an apprehension was cast, there have also been several cases where judges have refused to withdraw from a case.
• For Example; in the Ayodhya-Ramjanmabhoomi case, Justice U U Lalit recused himself from the Constitution Bench after parties brought to his attention that he had appeared as a lawyer in a criminal case relating to the case.