Centre transfers 2 Gujarat High Court judges; Justice Sandeep Bhatt moved despite opposition from Bar

The Central government has notified the transfer of two Gujarat High Court judges - Justice Sandeep Bhatt and Justice CM Roy - to the High Courts of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh respectively.

The Supreme Collegium had in August proposed the transfers of 14 High Court judges, including Justices Bhatt and Roy.

The proposed transfer of Justice Bhatt was met with protest from the Gujarat Bar, which decided to abstain from court work on August 26.

A delegation from the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA) had met Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai to urge the Collegium to reconsider its proposal. The Bar submitted a representation expressing its anguish and opposition to the proposed transfer of "one of the most honest and hardworking, industrious, courteous, upfront and dignified judges".

The delegation hinted that the transfer of Justice Bhatt was the outcome of certain judicial orders passed by him against the High Court's administrative side. It questioned whether the transfer proposal, which was made by the Collegium in consultation with administrative side of the High Court, was the result of an incident from earlier this year when Justice Bhatt raised serious questions over the conduct of a judicial officer in the High Court registry.

The controversy involves Registrar AT Ukrani, who had failed to return physical files of 15 cases to a Surat court for seven months after his transfer in 2019. A day after the Justice Bhatt passed this order, his roster was changed by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and he was shifted to a division bench headed by a judge senior to him. This had led to the GHCAA calling an urgent meeting to pass a resolution condemning the move.

However, it appears that the concerns of the Bar have now fallen on deaf ears.

Justice Roy will be repatriated to his parent Andhra Pradesh High Court, from where he was transferred in November 2023.

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