The name of the Gujarat High Court judge, who refused to stay Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ criminal defamation case, has been recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for transfer.
Name of Justice Hemant M Prachchhak, who observed that no case was made out to stay Gandhi’s conviction in a 123-page verdict passed in July, is among four judges from the Gujarat High Court who have featured in the Collegium’s latest list of recommendations for transfer.
Justice Prachchhak, who began as a lawyer in Gujarat, was appointed as a judge in the state’s High Court in 2021. While dismissing the plea, Justice Prachchhak had noted that Gandhi was already facing 10 criminal cases across India, adding that the order of the lower court was “just, proper and legal” in handing over a two year jail term to Gandhi for his remarks.
As per the resolution passed in the collegium on August 3, which was uploaded late on Thursday, Justices Alpesh Y. Kogje, Kumari Gita Gopi, Hemant M Prachchhak and Samir J. Dave of the Gujarat High Court have been proposed to be transferred to the Allahabad, Madras, Patna, and Rajasthan High Courts, respectively.
The Collegium has recommended their transfers “for better administration of justice”, according to a document.
Justice Samir Dave has recused himself from hearing the plea of activist Teesta Setalvadin in the alleged fabrication of evidence in the Gujarat riots case, while Justice Geeta Gopi has refused to consider Rahul Gandhi’s appeal against the conviction in the defamation case.
Justice Prachchhak had observed that no case was made out to stay Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a 123-page verdict passed in July. He was appointed to Gujarat High Court in 2021. In its resolution dated August 10, the Collegium has proposed the transfer of him and three other judges for the ‘better administration of justice.’
Apart from them, the Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, has recommended the transfer of five other High Court judges.
As per the resolution, Justice Vivek Kumar Singh of the Allahabad High Court has been proposed to be transferred to the Madras High Court.
Further, Justices Arvind Singh Sangwan, Avneesh Jhingan, Raj Mohan Singh, and Arun Monga of the Punjab and Haryana High Courts were proposed to be transferred to the Allahabad, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan High Courts, respectively.
In 14 separate resolutions of August 10 uploaded on the apex court website, the collegium has also recommended transfer of 14 judges of different high courts for better administration of justice.
One of the resolutions said that on August 3, the collegium had proposed the transfer of Justice Madhuresh Prasad from the Patna High Court to the Calcutta High Court.
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