The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, had on Wednesday recommended transfer of three judges in two High Courts for administrative reasons
Protesting against the recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium to transfer Justice Nikhil S Kariel from Gujarat to Patna High Court, the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA) on Thursday decided to abstain from work indefinitely. The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, had on Wednesday recommended transfer of three judges in two High Courts for administrative reasons.
The Collegium recommended transfer of Justice Nikhil S Kariel from Gujarat to Patna High Court, Justice A. Abhishek Reddy from Telangana to Patna High Court, and acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice T. Raja to Rajasthan High Court.
In a hurriedly-called meeting at 2:00 pm, the GHCAA sent out a message that it has called for an extraordinary general body meeting of the association at 2 pm on Thursday “to discuss and pass an appropriate resolution on the Hon’ble Supreme Court Collegium recommendation transferring Justice Nikhil Kariel from Gujarat High Court to Patna High Court”. The association decided to make representations to the Supreme Court judges hailing from the Gujarat High Court and Justice Aravind Kumar, the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, to convey their anguish to the Supreme Court Collegium.
Hundreds of Advocates and Senior Advocates gathered in the court hall of Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, after coming to know about the transfer.
Senior advocates Mihir Thakore and Asim Pandya, on behalf of the protesting judges said, “We’re here to oppose the death knell, death to the independence of judiciary because of the transfer of Justice Kariel”. The advocates added that they also wished to observe two minutes of silence. The statement came after Chief Justice Aravind Kumar inquired why they had suddenly assembled in court. Another member of the Bar also pointed out that such transfers are done after consulting the Chief Justice of the High Court.
The chief justice was also shown the online news reports. The court, however, switched off the live streaming of proceedings mid-way.