In less than a month, three key orders by Justice J B Pardiwala created ripples in the Supreme Court, prompting CJI B R Gavai to step in. From remarks on Allahabad HC to stray dogs and Himachal’s ecology, all matters were reassigned to Justice Vikram Nath’s bench.
New Delhi: In less than a month, three major orders passed by a bench headed by Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala have created a tricky situation for the Supreme Court. This has led Chief Justice of India B R Gavai to step in personally and take control of the matters.
The first controversy came when Justice Pardiwala made strong remarks against Allahabad High Court judge Prashant Kumar. Justice Pardiwala had criticised him for permitting criminal proceedings in what was essentially a civil dispute.
Along with this, he even passed an order removing the judge from handling criminal cases till his retirement. This decision upset many senior judges of the Supreme Court, who conveyed their concern to CJI Gavai.
After this, the Chief Justice of India requested Justice Pardiwala to reconsider his stand. On August 8, Justice Pardiwala deleted his earlier remarks and gave a clarification, saying that the intention was not to target or humiliate anyone.
He said clearly that the move was not meant
“to embarrass or cast aspersions on Prashant Kumar.”
The second matter was related to stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. Justice Pardiwala, while looking at the increasing cases of dog bites and rabies, especially among children, observed that the situation was “extremely grim.”
His bench then ordered that all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR should be permanently shifted to shelters “at the earliest.”
But this order faced sharp opposition from animal welfare groups and dog lovers. After this criticism, CJI Gavai transferred the matter to a three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath. Later, this bench changed the earlier direction.
On August 22, Justice Vikram Nath’s bench said that the earlier order was “too harsh.” The bench modified the ruling and said that the dogs should be released back on the streets but only after sterilisation and de-worming.
It ordered that the vaccinated stray dogs should not be permanently kept in pounds.
The third issue involved the condition of the environment in Himachal Pradesh. On July 28, a bench of Justices Pardiwala and R Mahadevan expressed very serious concerns about ecological damage in the state.
The bench warned that things were getting dangerous and observed,
“We want to impress upon the state government and the Union of India that earning revenue is not everything. Revenue cannot be earned at the cost of environment and ecology.”
They gave a very strong warning by stating,
“If things proceed the way they are as on date, the day is not far when the entire state of HP may vanish into thin air from the map of the country. God forbid this doesn’t happen.”
Now, this environment case too has been shifted away from Justice Pardiwala. It has also been handed over to a three-judge bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath.
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Justice Pardiwala is set to serve a two-year term as the Chief Justice of India beginning May 2028. He was born on August 12, 1965, in Mumbai.
He graduated from JP Arts College in Valsad in 1985 and later got his law degree from KM Law College, Valsad, in 1988. Coming from a family of lawyers, he hails from Valsad in South Gujarat. On May 9, 2022, he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court.
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