The Supreme Court of India today witnessed some scathing submissions by Senior Advocates Yatin Oza and Ram Jethmalani in the case relating to the delayed transfer of Justice MR Shah of the Gujarat High Court..Both Senior Advocates made vociferous arguments before a Bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud, with the court eventually asking the Centre to respond..When the hearing began, Ram Jethmalani submitted that the file relating to Justice Shah’s transfer has been pending with the central government since February..Yatin Oza then weighed in..“Things are really bad. I cannot say a lot of things in open court in the presence of journalists. .Recommendations which were made six months after [Shah J.’s recommendation] have gone through. .It is lying on the same table since February 2016.”.Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi tried to salvage the situation by responding that the file is under process..Oza then stated that this was an “ornamental reply” and that the Centre had submitted the same thing during the last hearing..“It is a deliberate attempt to stall the transfer [of Justice Shah]. Gujarat judiciary has virtually gone to the (unclear). I am restraining myself because of the media.”.Most interestingly, Oza also pointed out the fact that Justice Jayant Patel’s elevation as Chief Justice has not materialised yet and he continues to be the second senior-most judge of Karnataka High Court. Transfer of Justice KM Joseph, the current Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court has also been stalled..“This sends the message that ‘you be loyal to the Constitution and meet the fate of Justice Patel and be loyal to government and meet the fate of Justice Shah'”..Oza’s submissions led to Thakur CJ demanding a reply from the Attorney General as to why the file was not being cleared. The Court sought a response from the Centre within two weeks..The final stages of the hearing witnessed an exchange of words between Rohatgi and Oza. While Rohatgi said that Oza was not allowing him to speak and that he should be conscious of conduct [in court], Oza shot back stating,.“I am fully conscious Mr. Rohatgi, don’t teach me.”.In April last year, Oza had written two letters to Chief Justice Thakur alleging that Justice Shah and another Gujarat High Court judge, KS Jhaveri J, swore allegiance to “11, Akbar Road and 7, Race Course Road”..While Jhaveri J was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court in August, Justice Shah’s transfer is yet to come into effect..In one of the letters, Oza alleged that the collegium – then headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu – had taken a decision to transfer Justice Shah to the Madhya Pradesh High Court back in December 2015..However, Oza alleged that the file has been in the Prime Minister’s office ever since, with the objective of delaying the transfer till another senior judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court is transferred, so that Justice Shah assumes office as a senior judge.
The Supreme Court of India today witnessed some scathing submissions by Senior Advocates Yatin Oza and Ram Jethmalani in the case relating to the delayed transfer of Justice MR Shah of the Gujarat High Court..Both Senior Advocates made vociferous arguments before a Bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud, with the court eventually asking the Centre to respond..When the hearing began, Ram Jethmalani submitted that the file relating to Justice Shah’s transfer has been pending with the central government since February..Yatin Oza then weighed in..“Things are really bad. I cannot say a lot of things in open court in the presence of journalists. .Recommendations which were made six months after [Shah J.’s recommendation] have gone through. .It is lying on the same table since February 2016.”.Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi tried to salvage the situation by responding that the file is under process..Oza then stated that this was an “ornamental reply” and that the Centre had submitted the same thing during the last hearing..“It is a deliberate attempt to stall the transfer [of Justice Shah]. Gujarat judiciary has virtually gone to the (unclear). I am restraining myself because of the media.”.Most interestingly, Oza also pointed out the fact that Justice Jayant Patel’s elevation as Chief Justice has not materialised yet and he continues to be the second senior-most judge of Karnataka High Court. Transfer of Justice KM Joseph, the current Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court has also been stalled..“This sends the message that ‘you be loyal to the Constitution and meet the fate of Justice Patel and be loyal to government and meet the fate of Justice Shah'”..Oza’s submissions led to Thakur CJ demanding a reply from the Attorney General as to why the file was not being cleared. The Court sought a response from the Centre within two weeks..The final stages of the hearing witnessed an exchange of words between Rohatgi and Oza. While Rohatgi said that Oza was not allowing him to speak and that he should be conscious of conduct [in court], Oza shot back stating,.“I am fully conscious Mr. Rohatgi, don’t teach me.”.In April last year, Oza had written two letters to Chief Justice Thakur alleging that Justice Shah and another Gujarat High Court judge, KS Jhaveri J, swore allegiance to “11, Akbar Road and 7, Race Course Road”..While Jhaveri J was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court in August, Justice Shah’s transfer is yet to come into effect..In one of the letters, Oza alleged that the collegium – then headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu – had taken a decision to transfer Justice Shah to the Madhya Pradesh High Court back in December 2015..However, Oza alleged that the file has been in the Prime Minister’s office ever since, with the objective of delaying the transfer till another senior judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court is transferred, so that Justice Shah assumes office as a senior judge.