Transfer of Justice Vipul Pancholi would be counter-productive to administration of justice: GHCAA to CJI

The Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA) made a representation to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Thursday opposing the transfer of Justice Vipul Pancholi to the Patna High Court..The resolution passed by the Collegium headed by then CJI UU Lalit for transferring Justice Pancholi, who is ranked fifth in the seniority list of the High Court, was made public on November 21 though the resolution regarding the same was passed on September 29.Coincidentally, it was the same day when a seven-member delegation of the GHCAA met CJI Chandrachud to register their protest to the proposed transfer of another Gujarat High Court judge Justice Nikhil Kariel."This news (of proposed transfer of Justice Pancholi) shattered the hopes drawn by the members of GHCAA pursuant to positive assurance accorded by Your Lordships on same day with respect to examining the recommendation of transferring Hon'ble Mr. Justice Kariel," the representation to CJI Chandrachud said..Justice Pancholi, the GHCAA stated, imbibes all the qualities that a good judge should possess. "The unanimous view of the GHCAA on this Senior Judge is that he is true to the oath he has taken for upholding Constitution of India. In the little over 8 years that he has at the Bench, our experience is almost uniform and without any complaint, irrespective of standing of the advocate at Bar. The unanimous view of the members of Bar is underscored by the fact that over a period of 8 years, he has dealt with almost all the subjects that Single Judge handles as per the roster," the GHCAA has highlighted.They further highlighted that Justice Pancholi has disposed of over 35,000 matters. "He was part of the Bench headed by the then Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy for considerably long time. The faith reposed by present as well as past Chief Justices on him is buttressed by the fact that he is part of the multiple committees formed by the present Chief Justice as well as former Chief Justices," it added..The three-page representation said that there is no just reason to transfer such a fine judge who is will enter the Collegium of the Gujarat High Court in short time. "His experience as judge can be proved invaluable for administration of justice in Gujarat as he has still 8 years left as Judge. To transfer such an experienced judge from Gujarat will be counter-productive to the administration of justice in Gujarat and as paterfamilias of the institution, Your Lordships will be weighing such factor in taking any decision including transfer of judge," the GHCAA said..The GHCAA was on strike for around six days to protest the proposed transfer of Justice Kariel. Its delegation then met CJI Chandrachud on Monday, who assured them that their concerns would be looked into.Following these assurances, on Tuesday, the Association decided to call off its indefinite strike, which had started on November 17.However, lawyers continued to protest the proposed transfers of Justices Pancholi and Kariel by wearing white badges on their chests.