Supreme Court Collegium proposes transfer of Gujarat High Court judge who refused to stay Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

Justice Prachchhak is among nine High Court judges the Collegium proposed for transfer for ‘better administration of justice’

Gujarat High Court judge Justice H.M. Prachchhak. | Photo Credit: Youtube.com/@GujaratHighCourtLive

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of Gujarat High Court judge, Justice H.M. Prachchhak, to Patna High Court for “better administration of justice”.

Justice Prachchhak had refused to stay the two-year conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed by Gujarat BJP lawmaker Purnesh Modi for the ‘Modi surname’ remarks in a political rally in 2019. The conviction was stayed by the Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, who is a member of the apex court Collegium.

Justice Prachchhak is among nine High Court judges the Supreme Court Collegium proposed for transfer in a resolution arrived at on August 3, which was published late on Thursday.

The other Gujarat High Court judges recommended for transfer in the same batch were Justices A.Y. Kogje, K. Gita Gopi, Samir J. Dave to Allahabad, Madras and Rajasthan, respectively.

The Collegium has also recommended the transfer of Justice V.K. Singh of Allahabad High Court to Madras; Justices A.S. Sangwan, Avneesh Jhingan, R.M. Singh and Arun Monga, all of Punjab and Haryana High Court to Allahabad, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, respectively.

Plea rejected

The top court Collegium has also proposed the transfer of Justice Duppala Venkata Ramana, judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. The Collegium refused his request for a transfer to Karnataka High Court.

It has also proposed the transfer of Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Rajendra Kumar-IV, to Madhya Pradesh. The Collegium declined his request to stay his transfer for six months.

The Collegium recommended the transfer of Justice S.P. Kesarwani from Allahabad High Court to Calcutta, while refusing to reconsider the move.

It proposed the transfer of Andhra Pradesh High Court judge, Justice C. Manavendranath Roy to Gujarat. His request for a transfer to Telangana was declined.

Justice Prakash Padia, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, was recommended for transfer to Jharkhand. His request to be transferred to Madhya Pradesh, Patna or Uttarakhand was refused. All the transfers, like that of Justice Prachchhak, were made for the “better administration of justice”.