Guwahati, November 27
Advocates of the Guwahati High Court today staged a demonstration here protesting the proposed transfer of a “tainted judge” from Punjab to Assam in the first fallout of the cash-for-jobs scam outside that state.
There was, however, no disruption in the proceedings and the courts functioned normally after the members of the Guwahati Bar Association gave a call for the demonstration.
The lawyers are up in arms over the reported recommendation made by former Chief Justice of India B.N. Kirpal just before his retirement for transferring Mr Justice Amarbir Singh Gill from the Punjab High Court to the Guwahati High Court.
Referring to Mr Justice Gill’s alleged involvement in the Punjab Public Services Commission scam, Bar Association President A.C. Borbora said Mr Justice Gill was one of the three judges who were debarred from functioning for a while and wondered how could he be accepted in the Guwahati High Court.
The Association’s general secretary Apurba Kumar Sarma said a “judge who is unfit to be a judge in one high court cannot be dumped in another high court, and it is not in public interest to allow a tainted judge to carry out the judicial work in any high court”.
Mr Sarma said the advocates would spare no efforts in stalling Mr Justice Gill’s transfer and cautioned that the shifting of him would be detrimental to public interest in view of the serious allegations levelled against him.
Meanwhile, the Guwahati High Court Bar Association has submitted a memorandum to the Union Law and Justice Minister J. Krishnamurthy not to transfer Mr Justice Amarbir Singh.
PTI
