With the Supreme Court holding that in-service judicial officers aren't eligible for appointment as district judges in superior judicial services of the state against the posts meant for members of the Bar, two directly-appointed judges posted in Punjab & Haryana are set to be reverted to junior ranks.
The judges who are expected to be reverted are Karuna Sharma, additional district & sessions judge Palwal in Haryana & Mandeep Mittal, additional district & sessions judge Mohali in Punjab.
Sharma may now be reverted as civil judge in Haryana, a post she was holding prior to her direct appointment in Haryana superior judicial services in Dec 2018. Sharma had recently handed down death sentence to a man for raping & killing a five years old girl.
Similarly, Mittal may be sent back to his previous post of civil judge (senior division), prior to his direct appointment in Punjab superior judicial services in Apr 2019. Both were directly designated as additional district & sessions judges, when the is post meant for practicing lawyers with 7 years’ experience at Bar.
In its detailed order, passed on Wednesday, the Supreme Court made it clear that if any HC has appointed such judicial officers on posts of superior judicial services meant for practicing advocates, such officers are to be reverted.
Making it clear that direct appointment in state’s superior judicial services should be exclusively from the practicing lawyers, Supreme Court observed that Constitution-makers consciously wished that members of the bar, should be considered for appointment at all three levels -- district judges, High Courts, & Supreme Court.
“This was because counsels practicing in law courts have a direct link with the people who need their services; their views about the functioning of the courts, is a constant dynamic. Similarly, their views, based on the experience gained at the bar, injects the judicial branch with fresh perspectives…,” the Supreme Court further observed.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had passed these orders while hearing a bunch of petitions “Dheeraj Mor & others”. One of the petitioners was Anmol Singh Nayar, a judicial officer of Haryana judicial services. Nayar had challenged the decision of Punjab & Haryana HC administration through which the judicial officers were permitted to participate in the selection process of state superior judicial services that is meant for the advocates having seven years’ experience. His grievance was that this would affect his seniority. He had approached the Supreme Court after High Court division bench dismissed his plea.
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