The Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition by Civil Judge Mayuri Panchal, who removed from her position due to “unsuitability” and suspected forgery. Her services terminated for unsatisfactory performance, despite her efforts to challenge the decision. Additionally, her plea for anticipatory bail in connection to the forgery allegations was rejected.
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition filed by Civil Judge (Junior Division) Mayuri Panchal, who removed from service due to “unsuitability.” While her termination based on unsatisfactory performance, she also suspected of forging resignation letters of two other judges.
However, this allegation was not mentioned as a reason for any action against her in the court’s order. Mayuri Panchal, who appointed in 2013 with a two-year probationary period, had her probation extended until March 2022, when her services terminated.
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Despite a departmental inquiry into her conduct in 2017, no action was taken, and her probation continued until the final termination. She also failed to obtain anticipatory bail in connection with the forgery allegations.
In 2021, while serving at the Limbdi court in Surendranagar district, Civil Judge Mayuri Panchal implicated in a forgery case after the principal district judge received resignation letters from two judges, who later denied writing them.
Following the incident, two FIRs filed, and a police investigation linked Panchal to the forgeries. In December 2022, she sought anticipatory bail from the High Court, arguing that the legal actions against her were retaliatory, claiming,
“Since I issued notices against the collector, range IG, superintendent of police, and police inspector, it led to vindictive actions against me.”
The Gujarat High Court rejected Mayuri Panchal’s anticipatory bail plea, stating that she should have first approached a sessions court in Surendranagar district a move she claimed would be biased against her.
After appealing to the Supreme Court, she ultimately withdrew her pleas in May. Meanwhile, in March 2022, Panchal was dismissed from her position. She contested this dismissal in the High Court, with her lawyer arguing that the termination based on her performance up until 2018, while her work had improved thereafter.
Panchal also argued that her dismissal “stigmatic” as it followed a departmental inquiry.
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However, the bench, comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee, rejected her petition, noting that the termination order did not accuse her of any misconduct.
The bench clarified that an inquiry prompted by the principal district judge’s report did not transform the termination simpliciter into a punitive action, as the High Court‘s standing committee had not acted on or formed an opinion regarding the inquiry report. Although the issue of forged resignation letters was mentioned during the hearing, it was not cited as a reason for any action against Panchal in the court’s order.