New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed proceedings in the Gujarat high court against 27 judges in connection with the allotment of residential plots to them by the state government.
A bench comprising justices H. L. Dattu, P. C. Ghose and A.M. Sapre issued notices to the Gujarat high court registrar, state government and the judges cooperative society dealing with the land allotments asking them to respond within four weeks. The court has not issued notices to the 27 judges.
Lawyer Harish Salve, representing the judges, asked the court why the high court was in a hurry, especially since the allotments had been there for years.
On 10 August, the Gujarat high court issued notices to 27 sitting and former judges over allotment of 400 sq. metre plots to them at subsidised rates in the posh Gota area in Ahmedabad, near the high court. The state government had allotted the land in 2008.
On 11 August, a two-judge bench of the high court referred the case to a larger bench. The court, based on two letters from former high court judges, took note of issue and converted into a public interest litigation. The letters alleged that the government had committed certain illegalities in the land allotment.
The 27 judges to whom notices were issued included a Supreme Court judge, eight high court judges, chief justices of Bombay and Orissa high courts, a former apex court judge and eight retired judges of Gujarat high court.
