Chief Justice Y R Meena of Gujarat High Court has reacted sharply to Justice R C Garg’s complaint against him to the Governor, in which his fellow judge alleged that the Chief Justice was acting with vengeance in passing him over for chairmanship of a judicial committee and denying him a division bench roster.In the letter to the Governor, reported first by The Indian Express this week, Justice Garg had accused the Chief Justice of “bearing animosity” against him and sought a transfer from Gujarat High Court.Responding to the report, Chief Justice Meena told The Sunday Express in an exclusive interview, “Keeping in mind Justice Garg’s conduct, I acted in the interest of the High Court and the public.”He said: “Senior lawyers of the High Court had submitted a detailed presentation against Garg, which I have forwarded to the Chief Justice of India.” However, he refused to comment on the contents of the presentation. Addressing Justice Garg's allegation that he was not given the post of executive chairman, Gujarat Legal Services Authority, despite being, after the Chief Justice, the seniormost judge of the court, the Chief Justice said, “I found Justice A R Dave more suitable for the job and therefore recommended his name.”Justice Garg had said in the letter that conventionally the post goes to the judge next in seniority to the Chief Justice.About Justice Garg posting to a single-judge roster, he said: “I distribute work as per suitability and competence of the individual. As Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, it is up to me to decide what work is to be assigned to whom. I have nothing personal against any judge.”
