India, April 23 -- The Delhi High Court has observed that allegations challenging a judge's integrity must be backed by cogent evidence as such claims erode their authority and impedes the fair, fearless delivery of justice.

A bench of justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja in a verdict on Tuesday said, "If one has to attack a judicial officer on his integrity or competence, it must be done with cogent evidence; it cannot be made lightly. Such an attack, if made without any basis, undermines the authority of the judicial officer and interferes with the dispensation of justice by him/her without fear or favour. Any such criticism must therefore be well-founded, especially because the judicial officer, unlike the complainant, has no mea...