SC stays promotion of 68 judicial officers in Gujarat
The Hindu
The Supreme Court stayed the promotion of 68 judicial officers in Gujarat saying that it was in violation of the “merit-cum-seniority principle”
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the promotion of 68 judicial officers in Gujarat, including that of Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate Harish Hasmukhbhai Varma, who had convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment.
A Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah said the promotion of the judicial officers was in violation of the “merit-cum-seniority principle”.
Two senior civil judge cadre officers, Ravikumar Maheta and Sachin Prataprai Mehta, had approached the apex court against the selection of the 68 judicial officers to the higher cadre of district judges.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.