Banker can't be civil judge: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has rejected the plea of a bank employee who moved court against the rejection of his candidature for the post of civil judge over not meeting the minimum eligibility criteria for the position. The petitioner Avinash Detha, who works as deputy manager (law) in a bank, had contended that he must be held eligible for the post, when the eligibility requirement is that the candidate must be working "in the courts or other allied departments".

The single-judge bench of Justice NV Anjaria, while rejecting the plea, remarked: "The contemplation of the 'allied departments' when mentioned in the context of the word 'courts', it cannot mean to apply any and sundry department. The 'allied departments' must have the reference to the conceptuality of the court. It would indeed not include bank where the petitioner is a deputy manager in the legal branch".

As per the case details, Detha graduated in law from Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) in 2012 and enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Rajasthan on July 14, 2012. He cleared the All India Bar Examination conducted by Bar Council of India and practiced as an advocate. Thereafter, he cracked the specialized cadre officer in State Bank of India and since September 24, 2018, he is working with the bank. Thereafter, he applied for the position of civil judge, which was rejected as he was held ineligible for the position.