S J Pathak was suspended in 1999 on corruption charges

Judges are at times poor judges of Judges, especially in judicial administration, this case reveals,” observed the Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court comprising Chief Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Justice A S Shah on Friday.

The observation came while setting aside the order of a Disciplinary Committee of the HC to dismiss an Additional Sessions Judge on corruption charges.

In the landmark judgement, the HC not only reinstated the dismissed judge, but also asked the court to pay him Rs 15,000 towards legal expenses incurred by him.

Additional Sessions Judge S J Pathak was suspended in October 1999 while serving in Godhra, on charges of misconduct. A departmental inquiry was initiated against him and he was subsequently served two chargesheets relating to certain accusations against him during his earlier postings in Junagadh and Bharuch. Pathak was accused of granting bail to some people charged with serious offences, allegedly in return for considerations and gratifications.

Following this, the HC appointed another judge, Bela Trivedi, as Enquiry Officer in both the cases against Pathak. In her report, Trivedi concluded that the charges levelled against the judge had not been proved. Trivedi’s report said Pathak had passed various orders in “utter disregard and in ignorance of settled legal position’’.

The report was placed before the Disciplinary Committee consisting Justices B J Shethna and D K Trivedi. But the committee disagreed with the report of the Enquiry Officer and directed the concerned office to issue notice to Pathak to show-cause as to why he should not be dismissed from service.

... contd.