Gujarat High Court questions judge’s powers

GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat High Court Wednesday questioned a single judge’s order passed during the vacation without the “delegated powers”.

A division bench of the court stated that the learned judge did not have the powers to pass an order wherein the interim relief granted was final in nature.

The bench comprising of Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice K.M. Thaker said that the single judge should not have passed an order wherein granting relief to the concerned petitioner would result in a final relief.

While hearing the case, the division bench questioned Justice R.R. Tripathi’s order which allowed 293 members, whose names were deleted from the voters list, to cast their vote in the Jamnagar Agriculture Produce Markets Committee (APMC).

Justice Tripathi had directed the election officer to allow them to cast their votes and keep them aside, with the result subject to the outcome of the petition.

The division bench said the single judge should not have heard the matter and should have referred it to a division bench when such powers had not been delegated to him.

The court, however, reserved its order in the matter.