Promotion of 68 Gujarat judicial officers stayed by SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the promotion of 68 Gujarat lower judicial officers, including Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate Harish Hasmukhbhai Varma who had convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case.
A bench comprising Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said as per the Gujarat State Judicial Service Rules 2005, which was amended in 2011, the promotions must be made on principle of merit-cum-seniority and on passing a suitability test.
"We are more than satisfied that the impugned list issued by the high court and the subsequent order issued by the state government granting promotion to district judges are illegal and contrary to the decision of this court.The same are, therefore, not sustainable," the bench said.
"We stay the implementation of the promotion list. Respective promotees are sent to their original post which they were holding prior to their promotion," it said.
The top court passed an interim order staying the promotions and directed that the matter be heard by an appropriate bench as Justice Shah is retiring on May 15.
The top court was hearing a plea of senior civil judge cadre officers, Ravikumar Maheta and Sachin Prataprai Mehta, challenging the selection of the 68 judicial officers to the higher cadre of district judges.
Varma, the CJM of Surat, is one of the 68 officers of the district lower judiciary whose promotion has also been challenged by Maheta and Mehta, presently working as undersecretary in the legal department of the Gujarat government and the assistant director at the state legal services authority.
The top court, which had issued notices to the state government and the Registrar General of the Gujarat High Court on April 13 on the plea of the two judicial officers, was very critical of the decision and the order passed on April 18 to promote the 68 officers despite knowing the pendency of the case before it.
"It is very unfortunate that despite the fact that the respondents, more particularly, the state government, was aware of the present proceedings and the fact that in the present proceedings, this court made the notice returnable on April 28, 2023, the state government has issued the promotion order dated April 18, 2023 i.e. after the receipt of the notice issued by this court in the present proceedings, the top court said in its order on April 28.
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Tribal man brings dead sister's skeleton to bank to withdraw money from her account
Keonjhar (PTI): A tribal man in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Monday brought the skeleton of his dead sister to a bank to withdraw the money deposited in her name, police said.
The incident occurred at Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank located at Patana block of Keonjhar district. The man was identified as Jeetu Munda (50) of Dianali village. He was seeking to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the bank account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who died on January 26, 2026.
"I have run several times to the bank, and the people there told me to bring the account holder to withdraw money deposited in her name. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death," an illiterate Jeetu Munda told reporters.
Patana Police Station Inspector in charge (IIC) Kiran Prasad Sahu, who reached the bank after getting information, said, "Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person's account."
However, after the incident, the police assured Jeetu Munda that they would facilitate the withdrawal of money from the bank account of his dead sister. Later, the skeleton was again buried at the graveyard in presence of police.
Meanwhile, local Block Development Officer (BDO) Manas Dandpat said that he was not approached by anyone for the legal heir of late Kalra Munda. "Today only, I came to know about it. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue," the BDO said.
Meanwhile, bank sources said that the nominee in Kalra Munda's bank account was also dead. Therefore, Jeetu Munda was the lone claimant over the money deposited in her name.
The local administration has directed the bank officers to make arrangements and ensure that Jeetu Munda, who is the only claimant as per the rules, gets the money as soon as possible.
