Senior Advocate Asim Pandya Demands Emergency Meeting of GHCAA Over Roster Changes at Gujarat High Court
(Judicial Quest News Network)
In a surprising turn of events, senior advocate Asim Pandya, a former president of the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA), has called for an extraordinary general meeting of the lawyers’ body in response to recent roster changes at the Gujarat High Court. The changes, which came to light on February 15, raise serious concerns over the independence of the judiciary and the transparency of the roster allocation process.
As reported extensively, the roster of Justice Sandeep Bhatt was altered just one day after he raised serious concerns regarding the conduct of a judicial officer within the High Court registry. Senior advocate Pandya, in a letter addressed to GHCAA president Brijesh Trivedi, expressed deep concern over the timing and nature of these changes, calling for a broader discussion among legal professionals.
This marks the second such incident in recent weeks where a judge’s roster has been abruptly altered. The first involved the transfer of contempt of court matters away from a particular judge, with state-related business being reassigned to a different bench. In the latest move, the entire roster was allegedly revised with only cosmetic changes, such as reassigning a judge who had previously sat alone on criminal matters to a two-judge bench.
Pandya raised alarm over the potential impact of these decisions on the independence of the judiciary. He emphasized that while the Chief Justice has the legal right to assign and alter rosters for the administration of justice, questions arise when such changes seem to be reciprocal, especially when a judge has publicly criticized the court’s registry for missing files and alleged misuse of police machinery in legal matters.
“These developments have far-reaching implications for both the rule of law and the fundamental rights of citizens,” Pandya stated in his letter. He stressed the importance of defending judicial independence, warning that tolerance of such treatment could lead to a breakdown of democratic principles. He called on the legal community to stand in support of judges who are subjected to unfair treatment, particularly those who have voiced concerns during hearings or written orders.
” There is no dispute on the proposition of law that the Chief Justice is the master of roster and he or she is entitled to assign any business to any judge any time in the interest of administration of justice. The question is that when a particular business of a judge is suddenly taken away from him and assigned to another bench or the entire roster is re-notified with only a cosmetic change of asking a judge who had openly criticized the high court registry for the missing files and also police for abusing police machinery for settling civil disputes in contravention of the provisions of the applicable criminal law, does it auger well for the judicial independence of the institution?”
Pandya further referred to a past instance where legal professionals successfully intervened to prevent the transfer of an independent judge from the Gujarat High Court. He emphasized that the Gujarat legal community must unite to ensure that the independence of the judiciary is preserved at all costs, warning that failure to do so could lead to anarchy in society.
“The Bar is the only institution which can keep checks over any unusual happening of an event during the process of administration of justice. It is now time to unite and stand up against an unfair treatment given to an independent judge for his judicial views either expressed during the hearing of a case or in the written order. An unfair criticism of the conduct of an officer, litigant or a lawyer in the order passed by the court without giving an opportunity to the concerned officer, litigant or a lawyer is a nullity and it can be corrected by getting the remarks expunged from the appropriate judicial forum.”
In light of these developments, Pandya has urged the GHCAA president to convene an emergency general meeting on February 17 to discuss the issue and pass an appropriate resolution.
