HC removes adverse remarks against judge

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court has expunged adverse remarks against a judge who had moved the court complaining against a superior judicial officer’s unwarranted observations about her in an order. The division bench of acting Chief Justice A L Dave and Justice J B Pardiwala dubbed the remarks as unwarranted and ordered that
they must be removed.
The principal civil judge and judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) of Wadhwan, N M Ramrakhyani requested HC to expunge the remarks from the Surendranagar sessions court’s order and wanted the judge to be fined for making her enter into the litigation.
Quoting the Supreme Court’s various directions, the bench advised the lower judiciary that the judgment should be passed on merit of the case but “preferably without offering any undesirable comments, disparaging remarks or indications which would impinge upon the dignity and respect of judicial system, actus curiae neminem gravabit.” The Latin term translated to English stands for “an act of the court shall prejudice no one”.
The principal civil judge Ramrakhyani had refused bail to two bootleggers earlier this year. Her order was challenged before the sessions court, where the superior judicial officer held her decision wrong and passed strictures against her. The sessions judge wrote in his order that Ramrakhyani had abdicated her duty and had not applied mind at all. Her order was dubbed as “cryptic and unreasonable” and deprecated.
Moreover, she was accused of lacking “judicial courage”.
The inclement remarks brought Ramrakhyani to HC demanding that the words be expunged from the sessions court’s order, and the judge be made to bear the cost of litigation. She contended that her order ought not to have been deprecated, but if a subordinate judicial officer has committed any error, the superior should exercise his discretion and correct the mistake.