Gujarat judges face confusion after last year’s promotions were canceled. Now, 27 judges are unsure about upcoming exams due to a ‘merit-cum-seniority’ dispute. The Gujarat High Court will discuss the matter on February 27, adding to the uncertainty.
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AHEMDABAD: On Thursday, In a perplexing situation, twenty-seven out of forty judges, whose promotion to the district judge cadre was revoked by the Supreme Court last year, have approached the Gujarat High Court seeking clarification on whether to take the promotion exam this time. The Supreme Court intervened last year, canceling the promotions based on the ‘merit-cum-seniority’ principle, leading to a legal quagmire for these judges.
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Last year, a total of 68 judicial officers were promoted in the 65% promotion quota, adhering to the principle of merit-cum-seniority. The promotion process involves a multiple-choice question test, and the senior-most judges surpassing the cut-off mark secure promotion to the coveted post of district judge. Additionally, the promotion system includes a 25% quota for direct recruitment from the bar and a 10% quota based on merit.
The controversy unfolded when two judges, scoring higher marks than others but not promoted due to their junior status, challenged the ‘merit-cum-seniority’ system before the Supreme Court. An interim order by the Supreme Court led to a stay on the promotions, and the High Court administratively reverted 40 judges to their original cadre as they had scored lower marks than the petitioner judges.
While the question of the validity of promotion based on merit-cum-seniority awaits resolution in the Supreme Court, some of the relegated judges have filed a petition. Advocates Prakash Jani and Ankit Shah, representing them, raised concerns about an upcoming promotion exam scheduled for February 25 in the 10% merit quota.
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They questioned the potential scenario where judicial officers clear the promotion test this year and also emerge victorious in their legal battle before the apex court. The pivotal inquiry posed by the lawyers is whether such a dual success should be considered a promotion from 2023 or 2024.
The legal representatives further argued that if these judicial officers do not succeed in the promotion exam in 2024, their failure should not be used as an argument against their competence in the case filed by their junior in the Supreme Court.
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Responding to these intricate issues, the bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice has sought a response from the High Court’s administrative side.
The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for February 27.
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