Expressing its displeasure, the Supreme Court has said that the judicial officers should bring their grievances before it within a stipulated time frame for redressal.

As a judicial officer or an advocate, a person should know that the matter should be brought before the court within a stipulated time period, said a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan while dismissing the petition of M S Rajendra Prasad, a former additional judge of Karnataka High Court.

The court observed that the petitioner approached the court after four years and the delay could not be condoned.

Mr Prasad, who was not confirmed on his job in 2004, filed a petition seeking direction to the authorities for his appointment as a permanent Judge of the Karnataka High Court.

“It was ex-facie illegal, arbitrary and hinges on sheer unreasonableness for not to extend or making him a permanent judge of the High Court. No reasons whatsoever, much less any cogent reason were ever conveyed by the respondents to the petitioner,” said the petition filed by Advocate Kashi.

Mr Prasad, was made an additional judge of the High Court on April 18, 2002 for a two–year term and at the end of the period he was neither made permanent nor he received any communication in this regard, said Advocate Kashi Visheshwar in the petition.

Citing the petition filed by former Union Law Minister Shanti Bhushan on the appointment of Additional Judges particularly that of Justice Ashok Kumar of Madras High Court (now in Andhra Pradesh High Court), Mr Visheweshwar argued that he has a right to know the reasons for not being made permanent despite having an unblemished career.

However, the three other additional judges with him were either made permanent or their terms extended despite the High Court was having 8 vacancies on the given date, said the petition.