News Brief
These Are Reversible — Supreme Court On Gujarat HC Staying Promotions Of Judicial Officers
Swarajya Staff
May 18, 2023, 02:15 PM | Updated 02:15 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
The matter concerning the promotion of judicial officers in Gujarat was reassigned to another bench by the Supreme Court on 16 May, in light of the retirement of Justice M R Shah.
Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora brought the matter before Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala, notifying the court that the Gujarat High Court had issued an order on 15 May, reversing the promotion of 40 judges.
Justice Pardiwala stated that 28 judges remain on the list for promotion based on merit, while the promotions of the remaining 40 judges have been revoked.
However, CJI Chandrachud stressed that these decisions are subject to change and assured the affected judges that they would receive their retirement benefits.
Arora then highlighted the significant humiliation faced by the affected judges. In response, CJI Chandrachud expressed his intention to reassign the matter after the court vacation.
Earlier on 12 May, the Supreme Court had stayed a decision by the Gujarat High Court and a subsequent notification by the state government to promote 68 judicial officers to the position of district judges based on seniority-cum-merit, where seniority is given priority over merit.
This stay order was issued in response to a petition filed by aspiring district judges challenging the decisions of the Gujarat government and the Gujarat High Court to make appointments based on seniority-cum-merit.
The petitioners argued that appointments should be made based on the existing principle of merit-cum-seniority, where merit takes precedence over seniority.
Following these developments, the Gujarat High Court issued two notifications on Monday, reversing the promotions and transfers of 40 judicial officers.
For those who were promoted, their postings were changed while their promotions remained intact.
Notably, among those impacted by the stay order of the SC is Harish Hasmukh Bhai Varma. He was the judge who passed the order convicting Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case. The conviction led to Rahul Gandhi being disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.