Union MoS (IC) Arjun Ram Meghwal speaks in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing budget meeting in New Delhi on Friday. | Photo credit: Sansad TV
The Office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) has received 8,630 complaints against judges over the past decade, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed the Lok Sabha on Friday (February 13, 2026).
The information came in response to a question raised in the House by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP VS Matheswaran seeking a database of complaints of corruption, sexual misconduct or other serious misconduct against judges of high courts or the Supreme Court.
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Responding to a query, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that between 2016 and 2025, 8,360 complaints against judges were recorded. According to a table shared by the minister, the CJI’s office received 729 complaints against judges in 2016, followed by 682 in 2017 and 2,017 in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, there were 518 and 686 such complaints. In 2022, 1,012 complaints were received, followed by 977 in 2023, 1170 in 2024 and 1102 in 2025.
Although Mr Matheswaran asked if any action had been taken on the complaints, the minister did not address the query in his written reply.
To a further question from an MP on whether the central government was aware of any system maintained by the Supreme Court to document and track complaints of corruption, sexual abuse or other serious misconduct against judges of the higher judiciary, the minister said that under existing “internal procedure”, the Chief Justice of India and Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts are empowered to receive and deal with complaints against judges.
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The minister further noted that complaints filed through the Centralized Public Grievance and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) or other channels are forwarded to the CJI or the concerned Chief Justices.
The MP also asked whether the government intends to introduce guidelines or measures to ensure proper documentation, monitoring and accountability in the handling of complaints against members of the higher judiciary. But the minister did not deal with it.
Published – 13 Feb 2026 21:47 IST