NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear on May 8 a plea filed by two judicial officers of the senior civil judge cadre challenging the promotion of 68 judicial officers to district judges by way of the 65 per cent quota rule. The 68 also includes judicial magistrate Harish Hasmukhbhai Varma who convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of criminal defamation and sentenced him to two years of simple imprisonment.
The petitions, filed by Ravikumar Maheta, undersecretary in the legal department of the Gujarat government, and Sachin Prataprai Mehta, assistant director at the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority, argued that although the post of a district judge as per the Recruitment Rules was to be filled in by keeping 65 per cent reservation on the basis of the principle of merit-cum-seniority and passing a suitability test.
But merit-cum-seniority principle was given a go-by and the appointments were made on the basis of the seniority-cum-merit. Ravikumar Maheta in the plea stated that he had secured 135.5 marks out of 200 and Sachin Prataprai Mehta had secured 148.5 out of 200, but the candidates having lower marks were appointed.
Petitioner in the plea had sought for setting aside the selection list issued by the HC on April 10 and subsequent notification of the state government of appointing them. They had also sought for directing the HC to prepare a “fresh merit list” based on the principle of merit cum seniority.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar had issued a notice in the plea on April 13. On April 28, the bench slammed the Gujarat government for the “haste and hurry” in which it issued promotion order dated April 18. Disapproving the manner, the court in the order said,
“We do not appreciate the haste and hurry in which the State has approved and passed the promotion order when this Court was seized with the matter and a detailed order was passed while issuing the notice. It is to be noted that the selection was of the year 2022 and therefore there was no extraordinary urgency in passing the promotion order and that too when this Court was seized of the matter. We are prima facie of the opinion that it is nothing but overreaching the Court’s process.”
The court sought a response from the Secretary, State Govt to explain the reasons for showing “extraordinary urgency” for granting promotion and issuing the notification.
‘UP varsity officials, accused of conversion, got Rs 34 cr in funds’
Amid multiple cases of mass religious conversions, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that over Rs 34 crore was received by top officials of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Science (SHUATS) at Prayagraj – who are facing charges of illegal conversion.
The director and vice-chancellor of the institute are accused of religious conversion of marginalised sections of Hindu and Muslim society into Christianity by allurement and use of threats and coercion. The UP government affidavit also stated that the funds received by SHUATS were being transmitted to “Yeshu Darbar Trust” and being distributed in cash to pastors of churches involved in the offence. In March, the Allahabad HC had rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the director and vice-chancellor of the institute.
