A letter was sent by the Registrar (Protocol) of the Allahabad High Court to the General Manager of the North Central Railway, Prayagraj on July 14. Justice Chowdhary had sought an explanation from the General Manager of the North Central Railway, Prayagraj, for the poor experience during a recent journey on the Purushotam Express in the First Class AC Coach from New Delhi to Prayagraj.

Meanwhile, in a communication addressed to Chief Justices of all the High Courts, CJI Chandrachud expressed displeasure over the letter that went viral on social media. He said that the said letter has given rise to 'justifiable' criticism of the judiciary and emphasised that judges must ensure that the 'protocol facilities' that they get due to their position as judge must not be seen as a 'manifestation of power and authority'.

"Protocol facilities which are made available to judges should not be used in a manner that is liable to result in inconvenience to others or to bring public criticism of the judiciary," the CJI's communication said. As regards the letter in question written by the High Court judge to the Railways, the CJI clarified that a judge of the High Court does not possess disciplinary jurisdiction over railway personnel.

So, there was no occasion for an officer of the Allahabad High Court to call for an explanation from the railway personnel 'to be placed before his lordship for his kind perusal.' Evidently, the officer of the High Court was carrying out a direction of the Judge of the High Court in this instance. Justice Gautam Chowdhary has called for an explanation from railway officials for allegedly not meeting his requirements on a recent train journey he undertook with his spouse.