13 Allahabad High Court Judges Write To Their Chief Justice To Discuss SC Order In Unprecedented Move

Allahabad: In an unprecedented development, 13 sitting judges of the Allahabad High Court have signed a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court, urging him to convene a Full Court meeting to discuss a Supreme Court order against Justice Prashant Kumar.

What Triggered the Revolt?

The spark came from an August 4 order from the Supreme Court. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan criticised a judgment delivered by Justice Prashant Kumar of the Allahabad High Court.

The Supreme Court directed the High Court Chief Justice to remove Justice Kumar from the criminal roster until his retirement and to make him sit in a Division Bench with a senior judge of the High Court.

The apex court described Justice Kumar’s order as “one of the worst and most erroneous” they had ever seen, stating that the judge had “made a mockery of justice.”

In his letter, the judge proposed that the Full Court pass a resolution declining to implement the Supreme Court’s order to remove Justice Kumar from handling criminal matters, asserting that the Supreme Court does not hold administrative authority over High Courts. He further recommended that the Full Court formally express its concern over the language and tone used in the apex court’s order. The letter has been endorsed by 12 other judges.

Allahabad High Court Judges Push Back

This directive has set off judicial tremors. The letter signed by the 13 High Court judges defends Justice Kumar’s order, citing earlier rulings of the Supreme Court itself as the basis.

The letter challenges the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to interfere with roster allocation, which has been historically and constitutionally the exclusive domain of the Chief Justice of the High Court.

Has the SC Breached Judicial Federalism?

This episode has now raised serious concerns over judicial federalism.

• The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is reportedly consulting other senior judges of the Supreme Court to assess how to handle the backlash.
• Senior High Court judges are viewing this as a direct infringement on the independence of the High Court.
• There is a growing sentiment that the Supreme Court cannot de-roster a sitting High Court judge, a power that lies solely with the High Court Chief Justice.

The Background

The Supreme Court’s scathing order on August 4 questioned not just the content of Justice Kumar’s judgment, but also his competence and motive:

• “At times, we are left wondering whether such orders are passed on some extraneous considerations or it is sheer ignorance of the law.”
• “Passing of such absurd and erroneous orders is something unpardonable.”

A Battle for Judicial Autonomy

For many within the judicial system, this move amounts to a constitutional overstep. The master of the roster principle, repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court itself, lays down that only the Chief Justice of a High Court can assign cases and benches.

This has now led to what many are calling a war cry from Allahabad—a rare instance of High Court judges openly confronting the Supreme Court in defence of judicial independence.

The matter is now listed again before the Supreme Court on August 8 under “Direction Matters.”

All eyes are on what comes next.