Gujarat HC Bar waits in anticipation as Yatin Oza decides to attend Justice MR Shah’s farewell

Gujarat High Court Bar is gearing up for a very interesting day tomorrow. Justice MR Shah of Gujarat High Court, who has been transferred to Patna High Court as Chief Justice, will be given a Full Court farewell at 4 pm tomorrow..This might sound like a routine convention but there is more to it..The convention across most Bar Associations requires the President of the Bar Association to speak on the occasion..And the President of Gujarat High Court Advocates Association is Senior Advocate Yatin Oza who has been in the limelight for his vocal and scathing stand against Justice MR Shah..Oza is serving as President of the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association for a record fourteenth time and has in the past two years been very critical of Justice Shah and the Central government for interfering with the Collegium..The first time a controversy came to light in this regard was in 2016 when contempt action was initiated against Oza for his statements in two letters written to then Chief Justice TS Thakur. Oza in his letters had criticised Justices MR Shah and KS Jhaveri as owing allegiance to ’11, Akbar Road and 7, Race Course Road’. His letter stated,.“Apart from above allegation not only lawyers but all those connected with the institution including media know one thing, is that neither of the two judges named above bear the true faith and allegiance to the constitution of India and the laws instead thereof their faith and allegiance is mortgaged at 11, Akbar Road New Delhi and 7, Race Course Road New Delhi.”.This, he had alleged was the reason why their transfers were stalled despite Collegium recommendation to that effect..The contempt case against Oza was eventually dropped..Subsequently, in January 2017, Oza had appeared in a petition in Supreme Court relating to judicial appointments and submitted that there was a deliberate attempt to stall the transfer of Justice Shah. .In August 2017, Oza had written another scathing letter to the Chief Justice of India alleging that Justice MR Shah had converted unaccounted, de-monetised notes worth 1 crore with the aid of State government authorities..Oza was elected President of the GHCAA for the fourteenth time last month. Subsequently, Supreme Court Collegium recommended the transfer of Justice MR Shah to Patna High Court..It is understood that Oza then wrote to the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court on July 21 stating that a good majority of the Bar members will not participate if a farewell reference is accorded by the High Court to Justice Shah..He also stated in the letter that since it is an official function of the High Court, the word of the Chief Justice in that regard will be respected but he will not participate or speak in the said farewell..Oza also received requests from the Bar members for and against giving farewell reference to Justice Shah..However, Oza has now confirmed to Bar & Bench that he will indeed be participating and speaking at the farewell..“I am going to do it with complete grace and in all fairness. I will bid farewell to him with a smiling face without any ill-feeling or malice. Let him go with a smile on his face.” .Oza’s tenure at the helm of the Bar has largely been unquestioned all these years, but this could be the first time he is facing strong opposition from across the Bar after he agreed to attend the farewell..Lawyers are expected to throng the farewell function to hear what Yatin Oza speaks and whether the outgoing judge would respond to the same..The farewell will be held at 4 pm tomorrow..Read the notice of the farewell below.