“We had to pronounce the judgment today, and I was in Brazil for the J20 summit. So I used the aircraft internet, and Justice Pardiwala shared the draft document with me, while Justice Misra was also involved in the process,” remarked the CJI.
NEW DELHI: Recently, The Supreme Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, upheld the district judges’ promotion policy of the Gujarat High Court. The verdict was delivered following a collaborative effort among justices, facilitated by modern technology.
During the pronouncement, CJI Chandrachud disclosed how he utilized aircraft internet while returning from the J20 summit in Brazil to collaborate with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra in drafting the judgment.
“We had to pronounce the judgment today, and I was in Brazil for the J20 summit. So I used the aircraft internet, and Justice Pardiwala shared the draft document with me, while Justice Misra was also involved in the process,” remarked the CJI.
Justice Pardiwala added a personal note, stating,
“This judgment holds a special place in my heart, as it traveled across Brazil and India.”
The collaborative effort drew some lighthearted commentary, with Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi humorously suggesting,
“This judgment will be cited by airlines for the effectiveness of aircraft internet!”
The Court also commended the arguments presented by a junior lawyer in the case, acknowledging their significant contribution.
“We do not often highlight the role of junior lawyers, but in this instance, Mayur Raghuvanshi’s submissions in her rejoinder tilted the scale towards the respondents,” noted the Court.
The judgment addressed a plea challenging the decisions of the Gujarat government and the Gujarat High Court regarding district judge appointments based on merit-cum-seniority. Petitioners contended that appointments should prioritize seniority-cum-merit, where seniority holds precedence over merit.
The apex court sought responses from the High Court and the State government on the matter in April 2023. However, the government proceeded to notify a promotion list just four days later, prompting the Supreme Court to term the move as ‘very unfortunate’ in its order dated April 28, 2023.
Consequently, the Court stayed the decision of the Gujarat High Court and the subsequent State Government notification to promote 68 judicial officers to the post of district judges based on the merit-cum-seniority rule. However, it clarified that the stay would not affect those on the list promoted solely on merit, as they would have been promoted regardless.
Among those promoted was Surat Judicial Magistrate Harish Hasmukhbhai Varma, known for his ruling against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for criminal defamation in March, sentencing him to two years of simple imprisonment.
