Taking a U-turn from its earlier stand, the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA) has decided to call off its 'indefinite strike' against the transfer of Justice Akil Kureshi, the senior-most judge of Gujarat High Court, to Bombay High Court as a puisne judge. The development came after GHCAA president Yatin Oza requested the bar members to resume work post his "constructive meeting" with Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi regarding the issue.
Interestingly, Justice Kureshi has abided by the transfer order and assumed office at Bombay on Wednesday. The CJI-led collegium had recommended his transfer to Bombay on October 29 and the union government had issued his transfer order on November 1, against which GHCAA went on an indefinite strike. The lawyers' body hailed the transfer as a "vindictive order" against one of the finest judges for passing judgments on law point against the state government and people in power.
Although the office bearers of GHCAA met the CJI on the issue, the same, it seems, has so far failed to generate any result. Also, the strike called by the association had limited impact except on November 2 when the lawyers completely abstained from work. Thereafter, the high court was closed for Diwali vacation, which will continue till November 18. Interestingly, several lawyers have defied the strike called by the association and argued their cases listed before the vacation benches.
Speaking on the development, Oza told DNA that lawyers will resume work when the court reopens post the Diwali vacation on November 19. "I have requested the members of the bar to call off the strike and they have agreed. We do not want to stretch things unnecessarily so that it becomes counter-productive to the cause we are fighting for. All the decisions we have taken are for the furtherance of the cause," he said.
While refusing to reveal what transpired during the discussion with the CJI, Oza said the discussions were positive and we have put forth our grievances. "The CJI had given us over an hour of his precious time and we are hopeful that our grievances will be taken care of. As far as filing of the petition against the transfer is concerned, I personally feel it should not be filed. However, the final decision regarding the same will be taken on November 23 during our general body meeting," the president said.
JUSTICE AS DAVE APPOINTED ACJ
With Justice Kureshi joining Bombay High Court, the second senior-most judge of Gujarat High Court Justice AS Dave has been made the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ). An order regarding the same was issued on Wednesday. Notably, he was earlier too made the ACJ after Justice R Subhash Reddy was elevated to the Supreme Court. However, after the intervention of the CJI, Centre had to pass fresh orders appointing Justice Kureshi as the ACJ until he assumes office at Bombay.
from Daily News & Analysis https://ift.tt/2QH8b3t
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