The Collegium overlooked her name, a petition for criminal action is pending before the High Court — and ‘Bar & Bench’s’ dishonesty stands exposed before the world. Truth cannot be hidden — sooner or later, it always comes to light!
On January 12, 2026, ‘Bar & Bench’, a legal news portal, published an article in which a deliberate and motivated attempt was made to portray Justice Revati Mohite-Dere as the finest among all women judges — boldly predicting that her name would be considered for elevation to the Supreme Court within the coming months.
However, on May 27, 2026, the Supreme Court Collegium elevated five new judges to the Supreme Court — and Justice Mohite-Dere’s name was nowhere to be found. The Collegium overlooked her completely. This has fully and conclusively exposed the dishonesty, sycophancy, and paid journalism of ‘Bar & Bench’ — and has cast a serious question mark over the credibility and integrity of that news portal.
Link: https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/a-soft-voice-and-an-iron-resolve-justice-revati-mohite-dere-to-begin-new-innings-at-meghalaya-high-court “A soft voice and an iron resolve”: Justice Revati Mohite Dere to begin new innings at Meghalaya High Court
Serious Corruption Charges — Not a Word in the Article!
The most shocking aspect is that while writing this flattering article, ‘Bar & Bench’ deliberately suppressed the extremely serious charges against Justice Mohite-Dere. These are not mere allegations — they are based directly on court records, CBI reports, and police reports.
The charges are as follows —
Evidence has emerged that Justice Mohite-Dere fabricated false court records and committed corruption in order to grant bail to ICICI Bank’s former CEO Smt. Chanda Kochar and other accused persons in cases involving thousands of crores of rupees in corruption as well as serious criminal matters. On the basis of these charges, a petition seeking initiation of criminal proceedings against her has been filed, and the Chief Justice has constituted a special bench for hearing this matter.
A Punishment Posting — Straight to Meghalaya!
Adv. Nilesh Ojha, Adv. Ishwarlal Agarwal, the Indian Bar Association, the Supreme Court Lawyers Association, the Indian Lawyers and Human Rights Activists Association, the Supreme Court and High Court Litigants Association, and numerous other organizations and advocates had demanded that Justice Mohite-Dere be transferred out of Maharashtra.
This demand was not merely oral — it was made with concrete evidence based on court records, court orders, CBI reports, and police reports, and in accordance with the law laid down by the Supreme Court in this regard. Ultimately, she was transferred to the Meghalaya High Court accordingly.
In legal circles, this transfer is widely regarded as a punishment posting — and the reasons are self-evident. On one hand stands the Bombay High Court, where as many as 92 judges are working and which is the largest High Court in the country — and from there, she has been sent directly to the Meghalaya High Court, which has only three judges. This has not gone unnoticed by anyone.
To add to this — Justice M. S. Sonak, who is junior to Justice Mohite-Dere, was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court, which has a strength of 22 judges. A junior judge gets a Chief Justiceship while a senior judge is packed off to Meghalaya — this makes it abundantly clear that the Collegium placed no confidence in Justice Mohite-Dere, and there is strong discussion in legal circles that this transfer was nothing but a punishment.
This decision of the Supreme Court Collegium raises the biggest question mark over ‘Bar & Bench’s’ sponsored article — the very judge whom ‘Bar & Bench’ declared the finest has been overlooked by the Collegium — this truth can no longer be concealed.
Then Why Did ‘Bar & Bench’ Write the Praise — And For Whom?
Despite all this being known, despite it being on record in court documents, despite CBI and police reports being available — why did ‘Bar & Bench’ deliberately suppressed all of this and publish a one-sided flattering article? Questions arise —
- On whose instructions was this article written?
- What vested interests lay behind it?
- Who pressured them to suppress the serious corruption charges recorded in court records, CBI reports, and police reports?
- Was this paid journalism?
Outrage in Legal Circles!
This matter has triggered intense outrage across legal circles. Advocates fighting for transparency in the judiciary have stated that this article is a glaring example of paid journalism. If a news portal that writes about the judiciary itself undertakes to cover up corruption and polish the image of an accused judge — then where does the common citizen go for justice?
CBI Inquiry Demanded — Investigate Links with Journalists and Accused!
An even more serious demand is now being raised by bar associations. They are demanding that the CBI conduct a thorough investigation into whether Justice Mohite-Dere provided financial or other assistance to any journalists or news portals in this matter — and what vested interests lay behind getting sponsored articles published through portals like ‘Bar & Bench.’
Furthermore, these organizations are also demanding that a complete list be prepared of all those who are part of the chain between Justice Mohite-Dere and the accused persons who obtained bail in cases involving thousands of crores of rupees — and that legal action be taken against each one of them.
The bar associations have stated clearly — when a news portal deliberately suppresses the truth and sings the praises of an accused judge despite court records, CBI reports, and police reports being available, that is not journalism — it is a betrayal of the judiciary, and a thorough investigation into it is absolutely essential.
