Justice Hemant M Prachchhak, who had refused to stay Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction in the 'Modi surname' defamation case, is among the four judges from Gujarat High Court who have featured in the Supreme Court Collegium's latest list of recommendations for transfer. The list also includes Justice Samir Dave who recused himself from hearing activist Teesta Setalvad's plea to quash FIR over alleged fabrication of evidence in Gujarat riots case.
Justice Prachchhak had observed that no case was made out to stay Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a 123-page verdict passed in July. He was appointed to Gujarat High Court in 2021. In its resolution dated August 10, the Collegium has proposed the transfer of him and three other judges for the ‘better administration of justice.'
Other judges
The Collegium recommended Justice Gita Gopi to be transferred to Madras High Court. Notable, she had recused herself from hearing the appeal filed by Rahul Gandhi seeking stay on his conviction by a Magistrate court in the criminal defamation case against him.
Justice Samir Dave has been recommended for a transfer to the Rajasthan High Court. The judge had also courted controversy when he made oral observations on how girls in the past used to be married off at the age of 14 to 15 years and would deliver their first child by the age of 17 years. He also invoked Bhagavad Gita and said judges should be like Stithaprajna. "I can only say judges should be like Stithaprajna, which is defined in the second chapter of Bhagavad Gita. It means whether it is praise or criticism, one should just ignore it. Therefore, I firmly believe that a judge must be like Stithaprajna," Justice Dave said.
Justice Alpesh Y Kogje is the fourth judge who has been recommended for a transfer to the Allahabad High Court.
