Justice Rohit Deo, a judge of Bombay High Court, on Friday announced in his courtroom that he had resigned because of personal reasons, and was said to have added that he could not compromise on self-respect.

In 2022, Justice Deo had acquitted former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case, setting aside the life imprisonment awarded to him and noting that the trial proceedings were null and void in the absence of valid sanction under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Supreme Court stayed the order and directed the Nagpur bench of the high court to hear the case afresh. Last week, Justice Deo stayed the operation of a Maharashtra government resolution of January 3 through which the state had been empowered to cancel punitive proceedings initiated by the revenue department related to illegal excavation of minor minerals by contractors engaged in the construction of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway.

Making the announcement in his courtroom in Nagpur — where the high court has a bench — Justice Deo said on Friday, according to a lawyer present in court: “Those who are present in the court, I apologise to each one of you. I scolded you because I want you to improve. I don’t want to hurt anyone of you because you all are like family to me and I am sorry to tell you that I have submitted my resignation. I can’t work against my self-respect. You people work hard.”

Speaking to reporters later, the judge said he had quit due to personal reasons and sent his resignation letter to the President.

Following the announcement, the matters listed before him for the day stood discharged.

Deo was appointed a judge of Bombay High Court in June 2017 and was due to retire in December 2025.