Taking serious exception to the conduct of a judicial officer on a public road, the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday stayed the investigation against three persons based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them for allegedly overtaking a private car of the judicial officer at Malur in Kolar district recently.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the interim order on a petition filed by Vinay K.M., 24, his mother V. Kavitha, 48, and his grandfather P. Venkatesh, 70, of Malur.

The petitioners had challenged the FIR registered against them based on the complaint lodged by Gayathri, Principal Civil Judge and JMFC, Malur.

After the petitioner number-1 overtook the car driven by the judicial officer’s husband and told them to drive the car slowly, the judicial officer’s husband chased the two-wheeler and stopped them at a distance. Later, the judicial officer and her husband were engaged in a squabble with the petitioners and this squabble was captured in a nearby CCTV camera. It was later circulated through social media.

However, the judicial officer allegedly compelled the police to register the case against Vinay and his mother, who were on the two-wheeler and ensured the arrest of Vinay and his grandfather, who were later granted bail.

“It is surprising as to how in the offences alleged against these petitioners, they were taken into custody. Merely because the compliment was a judicial officer?” the court observed in its order.

On viewing the CCTV footage, the court said that “prima facie the conduct of the judicial officer is unbecoming of the office of a judicial officer to get down from the car and indulge in a quarrel with a common man who only overtook the car of a judicial officer and asked them to go slow as they were on a two-wheeler. If this hurt or enraged the ego of the judicial officer it is nothing but a classic example of abuse of office of judicial officer.”

The court also directed the registry to place the order before the Chief Justice for further inquiry against the judicial officer.