Unjustifiability of alleging judicial bias based on relatives' employment

Seeking the transfer of a criminal case on the speculative ground of apprehended bias merely because a relative of the opposing party works as a police officer or court staff is entirely untenable. The administration of justice by a judicial officer cannot be lightly suspected or presumed to be compromised on the tenuous premise that a relative holds a subordinate position within the same district. Law presumes that judicial officers discharge their duties impartially, uninfluenced by the incidental employment of extended family members in local police stations or administrative offices. Furthermore, when the specific relative whose employment was cited as a ground for apprehension has already been transferred out of the district, the plea of bias loses all factual foundation. Entertaining transfer requests based on generalized and unsubstantiated apprehensions of local influence undermines the credibility of trial courts. Therefore, courts must reject transfer applications that impute systemic bias to judicial machinery without concrete, cogent proof. (Prasanna Kasini v. The State of Telangana & Anr. | 2026 INSC 30)