India, March 13 -- The Delhi High Court on Friday held that any order by higher courts staying, modifying, or interfering with a lower court order should not be seen as a reflection on the competence or ability of the judge who passed the order, as such judicial scrutiny is an inherent feature of the hierarchical structure of courts.

In a 12-page ruling, justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that if every order of a higher court staying or setting aside a trial court's decision is presumed to be a comment on the integrity of the judge, it would become impossible for higher courts to adjudicate cases.

"The fact that an order passed by a court, whether trial court or even high court, is stayed, modified, or otherwise interfered with by a ...