In his 12-page letter, Justice Jain questioned the judicial propriety of Justice Gill opting to be administrative judge of Ludhiana when he was aware that a property case involving his son, advocate Amandeep Singh Gill, was pending in Ludhiana.

Justice Jain objected to the fact that Justice Gill did not disclose this to him. “He (Justice Jain) didn’t ask me about it,” Justice Gill told The Indian Express when asked for comment. “Since there was nothing wrong, the issue was not discussed.” (see box).

The son’s case involves a plot in Moga measuring 74 kanals and 15 marlas. A suit contesting the possession of the land by the Punjab government and the state’s Chief Agricultural Officer — for use by a government seed farm — was filed on October 3, 1998 by Justice Gill’s son Amandeep Singh Gill, a lawyer in Moga.

The case was transferred from Moga to Ludhiana after the manager of the seed farm filed an application to Justice M L Singhal — then the administrative judge for Moga — during the judge’s annual inspection. Justice Singhal has since retired.

The manager claimed that because Amandeep Singh Gill was the son of Justice Gill and both were from Moga, the case could be influenced. His request was accepted — and the case transferred from Moga to Ludhiana on April 30, 2001.

On May 15 this year, Justice Gill chose to take up the assignment of Administrative Judge for Ludhiana. Five days later, an application was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by his son asking for transfer of the case from Ludhiana.

The son cited the fact that his father was now the Administrative Judge for Ludhiana. According to Justice Jain’s letter, the son didn’t bring the history of the case to the court’s attention. A single-judge bench of the High Court transferred the case to Ferozepur.

In his letter, Justice Jain said Justice Gill chose Ludhiana without disclosing the fact that his son’s property case was pending there.

This was against a resolution passed in full court that a judge should not choose a district where his or his relative’s case is pending.

Incidentally, Justice Gill — who is still administrative judge for Ludhiana — along with two other High Court Judges, was divested of work for two months in 2002 by the then Chief Justice Arun B Saharya for their alleged role in the scandal involving former Punjab Public Service Commission chief Ravi Sidhu.

CJ didn’t ask me: Justice Gill

The Indian Express contacted Justice Gill for his comments on his chief’s transfer recommendation:

• It’s our ancestral land sold off to the Punjab govt in the ‘50s. Dispute is over 10 acres the govt illegally gave to Punjab Agricultural University for producing seeds.

• Five days after I opted for Ludhiana, my son moved an application stating that since I have become the Inspecting Judge of Ludhiana, the case be transferred from Ludhiana.

• Asked why he opted for Ludhiana knowing his son’s case was there, Justice Gill said: “Proceedings are stayed there since Nov 2004. Had the stay not been there, I would not have opted”.

• Why didn’t he inform the CJ? “He didn’t ask me about it. Since there was nothing wrong, the issue was not discussed.”