Lawyers bring Gujarat High Court to a halt

Over 2,000 agitating advocates on Friday brought the functioning of the Gujarat High Court to a grinding halt after Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA) declared an indefinite strike in protest against the transfer of justice Akil Kureshi to Bombay High Court.

The protest also attained limited success with the Centre having had to appoint justice Kureshi as the acting chief justice (ACJ) within 24 hours of appointing justice AS Dave as the ACJ by suppressing the previous order.

Notably, following the elevation of chief justice R Subhash Reddy to the Supreme Court on Thursday, justice Kureshi, being the senior-most judge of Gujarat High Court, was expected to become the ACJ.

Instead, justice Kureshi was transferred as per the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium with a direction to assume office at Bombay by November 15 and justice Dave, the second senior most judge was made the ACJ. According to GHCAA president Yatin Oza, the appointment of justice Dave as the ACJ by superseding justice Kureshi was cancelled after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi directed the Ministry of Law and Justice to immediately correct the error and appoint justice Kureshi as the ACJ.

Oza said till the time justice Kureshi assumes office at Bombay, he will be the ACJ of Gujarat High Court.

The president also criticised the collegium's recommendation to transfer justice Kureshi. He said members of the collegium must not be aware of the credentials of justice Kureshi, one of the finest judges of the Gujarat High Court, who is known for his honesty and uprightness.

Oza also termed the transfer order as ''vindictive'' because justice Kureshi had delivered several judgments against the government and people in power.

Meanwhile, GHCAA office-bearers said that high court lawyers will stick to the resolution of an indefinite strike against justice Kureshi's transfer as the fifth senior most judge of Bombay High Court. They claimed that the senior-most judge of the Gujarat High Court cannot be transferred in such a manner to Bombay where he will retire without elevation as the chief justice of the high court or as a judge of the Supreme Court. However, Oza said that a meeting will be held on November 20 to review the situation.

GHCAA to file petition

The lawyers' body has also decided to challenge the transfer order of justice Kureshi by filing a petition. However, it is yet to take a call on whether it will be filed before the Supreme Court or the Gujarat High Court. While some lawyers said the petition should be filed in the high court, others argued that justice Kureshi has become the ACJ and therefore, none of the judges will hear the matter.

Meanwhile, the president said the decision on where to file the petition and what should be its contents will be decided by senior advocate Mihir Thakore and a team of four other senior lawyers including Saurabh Soparkar, Deven Parikh, Shalin Mehta, and Rashesh Sanjalwala.

CJI-SPEAK

• In New Delhi, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi made light of the controversy over justice Kureshi not being named as acting Chief Justice. “We all make mistakes and we correct ourselves. Kureshi is senior-most judge. There is no mystery in it,” he said, adding a second notification corrected the mistake.
   
• GHCAA office-bea-rers say HC lawyers will stick to the resolution of an indefinite strike against justice Kureshi’s transfer as the fifth senior most judge of Bombay High Court.