Gujarat lawyers want judges transferred over 'misuse of position'

Friday, June 13, 2008
Gujarat lawyers want judges transferred over 'misuse of position'

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court Advocates Bar Association on Friday raised the issue of lawyers related to judges of the court misusing their position and called a meeting over the matter June 19.

Yatin Oza, president of the bar association, said that it was necessary to request the chief justice of India and his companion judges in the collegium - Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice Ashok Bhan, Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice J.M. Panchal - to transfer all judges of Gujarat High Court whose children or parents were practicing in the same court.

"This step is necessary to bring purity in the administration of justice," Oza said.

He has written a letter to all bar council members, calling them for a meeting June 19 to discuss the issue of lawyers misusing their relatives' position.

In his letter, Oza said: "Large number of advocates, more particularly junior advocates, have complained to me about the misuse and abuse of kith and kin (mainly children and parents) of honourable judges, misusing the position of their father/son. The coterie has become so strong that not whispers, but loud shouts, have been heard around, both within and outside the courts, about one honourable judge taking care of the kith and kin of another honourable judge and vice versa."

Oza, however, admitted that it would be wrong to brand all the judges in negative light.

"There could be an exception and only a few could be involved. But it is virtually impossible to subjectively pinpoint someone in an atmosphere of suspicion."And therefore in larger interest of justice, it is necessary to transfer all the honourable judges who fall in the above category from our court," he said.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service