Gujarat High Court Accepts Apology Of 12 Judicial Officers Who Failed To Dispose 45 Yrs Old Suit, Drops Contempt Proceedings

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dropped the contempt proceedings and accepted the unconditional apology rendered by 12 judicial officers who failed to dispose of a suit which is pending since 1977 till date, despite the direction issued by the High Court in November 2004 to dispose it of by the end of year 2005. While closing the contempt proceedings, the division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri observed: “It is universally stated by all the Judicial Officers expressing a deep sense of repentance and they have tendered unconditional apology. The Judicial Officers have also stated that they would ensure that such incidents would not recur in future and have assured this Court that they will take due care and caution in future.” However, the court also cautioned the judicial officers that they should be careful and should peruse the record and proceedings of the case whenever the matter is taken up, which would be not only in their interest but also in the interest of the members of the bar as well as the litigant public for whom the services are being rendered. The court observed that the direction of the High Court to dispose of the suit by 2005 which was originally initiated in 1977, has been completely ignored by 16 judicial officers who were hearing this matter in Anand district and they have not even cared to look into the direction issued by the High Court. On 16 December, 2022 the High Court ordered the Registrar General to issue notice to all 16 judicial officers provide explanation regarding the delay. The report filed by the Registrar General on 18.12.2022 with the responses of the judicial officers sate that during the aforesaid period, in all 16 Judicial Officers have worked in the said Court, out of which, 10 Judicial Officers are still serving, 6 Judicial Officers have retired and 2 Judicial Officers have expired. The Court stated that the remorse expressed by the Judicial Officers seems to have come from their hearts. “We accept the apology tendered by them and drop further proceedings”, it concluded.Earlier, the Court had cautioned that when the Judicial Officer is unable to conclude the proceedings within the time frame, as directed by the High Court, it must seek extension of time. It added that whenever a direction of the High Court has not been complied with then Presiding Officers of the respective Courts were required to forward a requisition letter to the High Court through proper channel. Case Title: Patel Ambalal Kalidas v. Patel Motibhai KalidasCase Citation: 2023 Livelaw (Guj) 33 Coram: Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri Click Here to Read/Download Judgment

Gujarat High Court Accepts Apology Of 12 Judicial Officers Who Failed To Dispose 45 Yrs Old Suit, Drops Contempt Proceedings

Udit Singh

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