Jammu, Feb. 20 -- The Supreme Court has criticised a former judge of the Madras high court for pronouncing a one-line order in a criminal case and releasing the detailed judgement five months after he retired from service.

The top court said that retaining the file of a case for five months after demitting office was an act of gross impropriety.

Setting aside the order of the high court, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the operative part of the order was pronounced on April 17, 2017.

Five weeks were available to the judge for releasing the reasoned judgment till the date on which he demitted office, it said.

"However, the detailed judgment running into more than 250 pages has come out after a lapse of five months...