Karnataka High Court Transfers Judicial Officer Involved In Road-Rage Incident

The Karnataka High Court has ordered the transfer of Judicial Magistrate who allegedly indulged in a road rage incident, chasing down two individuals travelling on a two-wheeler after they overtook her private car, and got them arrested.

A notification issued by the High Court states that Civil Judge and JMFC Malur Smt. Gayatri has been transferred as Principal Civil Judge and JMFC Humnabad, Bidar district for administrative reasons and in "interest of public service" effective immediately. 

The decision comes soon after high court's order last week reprimanding the conduct of the judicial officer.

Notably, last week a single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna had while hearing a plea by a 70-year-old senior citizen who had approached the High Court seeking quashing of the pending criminal proceedings against him stated to be lodged on a complaint by the judicial officer remarked, that her conduct was wholly unbecoming of a judicial officer. 

The single judge had also directed the Registry to place the matter before high court's Chief Justice for further disciplinary action against the judicial officer.

“…If the video is noticed, it prima facie clearly indicates that it is wholly unbecoming of a judicial officer to get down from a car, indulge in a quarrel with a common man who only did the crime of overtaking the car of a judicial officer and asking the car to travel slow. If this has enraged or hurt the ego of judicial officer, nothing can become a classic illustration of abuse of the office of judicial officer…”, the court had said last week.