Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 16: Responding to the queries raised by the Governor, N N Vohra on pre-mature retirement of three District and Sessions Judges, State High Court has conveyed that the decision was taken strictly as per the legal provisions pertaining to the subject and made it clear that Full Court decision was a binding on the Government.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that State High Court has furnished its response to the detailed communiqué of the Governor to the Law Department, which will forward the same to the Raj Bhawan within next two-three days after its detailed examination.
They disclosed that High Court has stated in the reply that Full Court has taken the decision regarding pre-mature retirement of three District and Sessions Judges strictly as per the legal provisions contained in the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Judicial Service Rules. The High Court has substantiated Full Court decision by quoting several judgements of the Supreme Court of India, where by such decisions of High Courts of various States in the country were upheld with the observations that a Judge like Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion.
About the query as to why the review of performance of these District Judges was delayed, when it could have been done earlier also, sources said that the High Court has mentioned that as per the guidelines of Shetty Commission, the review can be done at the age of 50, 55 or 58 and the process has to be initiated six months prior to the age at which the review is done. “In this case, while two Judges were approaching 58 years of age another was nearing the age of 55 years”, sources added.
“Moreover, compulsory retirement can be considered only at these three stages and prior to 50 years of age the cases are considered for dismissal only”, they said, adding “in case of compulsory retirement the retirement benefits are given but in case of dismissal from the service no benefit is accorded”. The High Court has also conveyed that Full Court decision was a binding on the Government.
In response to a question, sources said, “given the legal position, the Judges, who have been compulsorily retired by the High Court, have the only option of the judicial review of the Full Court decision before the Apex Court of India”.
It is pertinent to mention here that decision on pre-mature retirement of three District and Sessions Judges was taken by the Full Court in its meeting presided over by the Chief Justice M M Kumar on June 2.
The unanimous decision of the Full Court was based on the report of the Administrative Committee of the High Court into the conduct of these three Judges—- Muzaffar Iqbal Qureshi, the then Additional District Judge, TADA/ POTA Srinagar, who was also holding the charge of Additional District Judge, Bank Cases, Brij Mohan Gupta, the then Principal District and Sessions Judge Bhaderwah and Shakti Kumar Gupta, the then Principal District and Sessions Judge Kargil.
The State Cabinet put its seal on pre-mature retirement of the Judges in the first week of October, nearly four months after the decision of the Full Court.
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