Judge who rejected stay on RaGa's conviction on transfer list
Justice Hemant M Prachchhak, the Gujarat High Court judge who refused to stay the conviction of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark, is among the transfer recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday. In addition to Justice Prachchhak, the collegium has also recommended the transfer of three other Gujarat HC judges.
Why does this story matter?
The decision over the transfers was reportedly taken by the collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Surya Kant, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, and BR Gavai in its meeting on August 3. According to the news outlet NDTV, the collegium recommended the transfers for "better administration of justice."
All you need to know about Prachchhak
Justice Prachchhak reportedly began his career as a lawyer in the Gujarat HC and also worked as the assistant pleader of the Gujarat government under the then-state Chief Minister Narendra Modi. After Modi became the PM in 2015, Prachchhak was officially appointed the central government's standing counsel for the Gujarat HC till 2019. Later in 2021, Prachchhak was appointed the state HC judge.
Details on three other Gujarat HC judges
According to the apex court's collegium, Justice Prachchhak has been recommended to be transferred to the Patna High Court. On the other hand, Justice Alpesh Y Kogje is recommended for transfer to the Allahabad High Court, Justice Gita Gopi to the Madras High Court, and Justice Samir J Dave to the Rajasthan High Court.
Recalling Justice Prachchhak's order on Gandhi
To recall, Justice Prachchhak was in the news when he refused to stay Gandhi's conviction and the two-year jail term imposed on the grand old party leader in a criminal defamation case for his remark, "How come all thieves have Modi surname?" Gandhi moved the country's top court last month following the HC's verdict, which stayed his conviction in the criminal defamation case.
Here's what SC said on Gandhi's defamation case, Gujarat HC
While hearing Gandhi's plea, the SC stated that the order from the Gujarat HC had a "lot of preaching" and was a "very interesting read." A three-judge bench of Justices PS Narasimha, Sanjay Kumar, and BR Gavai also noted that the "utterances were not in good taste" and that a public official must "exercise caution while making public speeches."
