What is the recusal of judges?
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Recusal is the removal of oneself as a judge or policymaker in a particular matter.
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Recently, two Supreme Court (SC) judges have recused themselves from hearing cases relating to West Bengal.
Why does a judge recuse?
The judges usually recuse themselves when there is a Conflict of Interest:
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Conflict of Interest: It can occur in many ways, such as, holding shares in a company that is a litigant to having a prior or personal association with a party involved in the case. As the judges have a duty to act fair, they recuse from the case.
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Judge heard same case earlier: Another instance for recusal is when an appeal is filed in the Supreme Court against a judgement of a High Court that may have been delivered by the SC judge when he or she was in the HC.