( 1 ) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment of the High Court whereby petition filed under S. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by the appellant for expunging the remarks against him as contained in the judgment of learned Sessions Judge dated 7/2/1998, was dismissed.

( 2 ) AT the outset, we may observe that a judicial officer who exceeds the limits of propriety and conduct and does not render justice in accordance with the facts of the case and the law, needs no protection from the superior courts. But, at the same time, while passing strictures against a member of the subordinate judiciary utmost care and caution is required to be taken, also having regard to the stress and conditions under which, by and large, the judicial officers have to render justice. It would be appropriate to remember what was said a long time ago by Justice Gajendragadkar, as noticed in the decision of this Court in Braj Kishore Thakur v. Union of India in the following words:

"72, A quarter of a century ago Gajendragadkar, J. (as he then was) speaking for a Bench of three Judges of this Court, in the context of dealing with the strictures passed by a High Court against one of its subordinate ju