District judge moves HC against forced retirement

AHMEDABAD: A bench of Chief Justice R S Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi on Thursday issued notice to Gujarat high court's registrar general and the state government after a district judge challenged her compulsory retirement.
Eighteen district cadre judges were made to retire compulsorily by the state government by issuing a notification on July 18 upon recommendations by the HC administration.They were declared unfit to be continued in service, and therefore forced to retire in public interest.
One of these judicial officers, Yashodhara Pandya, who was principal family court judge at Godhra, has approached the HC questioning the way the HC made recommendations and the state government gave them pink slips. Pandya also demanded that two rules - Rule 21 (1) (2) of the Gujarat State Judicial Service Rules and Rule 10 (4) of the Gujarat Civil Services (Pension) Rules - be declared invalid.
She has contended in her petition that these rules bestow absolute powers on the high court to terminate services of a judicial officer of lower judiciary at any moment without giving him notice period or not, or without seeking an explanation from the judicial officer. This is against the spirit of Constitutional provisions that enable a person to put up his defence. Hence, these rules must go. The authorities took action against 18 judges under these rules.
Seeking reinstatement by quashing the order of compulsory retirement, Pandya has urged the HC to ask for documents and records of proceedings that was initiated to review their work and ultimately culminated in making them retire. She has requested the court to direct the HC registry and the government to place all documents that were part of the screening committee decision on record.