Gujarat High Court
The case involved B G Doshi, who joined the subordinate judiciary in 1995 and rose to the rank of additional district judge. The complaint alleged that Doshi passed an order on an appeal and pronounced it in court on Dec 21, 2012, with the order partially favouring the litigant. However, when the lawyer obtained a certified copy of the order on Jan 7, 2013, it was not in his favour. The full court ratified the recommendation, and Doshi was dismissed in May 2015. The stenographer had testified that dictation of judgment continued till Dec 28, 2012, indicating that it could not have been pronounced on Dec 21.
We are, therefore, of the view that the order of dismissal passed against the petitioner cannot be sustained and the same will have to be quashed.”
The litigant’s lawyer made an endorsement by marking “seen” on the copy. Quashing the dismissal order, the bench said, “In light of clear positive evidence by the court staff and the discrepancies in the complainant about the presence of the counsel at the time of the pronouncement of the judgment, the petitioner cannot be held to be guilty. Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has quashed the dismissal of a judge who was sacked for allegedly passing two contradictory orders in the same case — one partially favouring the litigant and another against him. He was posted at Ahmedabad rural court when the complaint was filed against him. He complained to the HC authorities, following which the principal district judge conducted an inquiry into allegations of changing the judgment after its pronouncement and manipulating the rojkam (record of the court’s daily proceedings) and case record. The inquiry found no evidence against Doshi, as statements by court staff, including the stenographer, did not support the complaint. He was exonerated, but the HC standing committee referred the matter to a two-judge committee, which disagreed with the inquiry report and recommended his dismissal. Doshi immediately challenged the dismissal. After hearing the case, a bench of Justice N S Sanjay Gowda and Justice J L Odedra found no evidence to establish the charges.