IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 792 OF 2014
Additional District and Sessions Judge ‘X’ … Petitioner
versus
Registrar General, High Court of Madhya Pradesh and others … Respondents
The averments made in the writ petition reveal that the petitioner having practiced as an advocate for fifteen years at Delhi, applied for appointment by way of direct recruitment to the Madhya Pradesh Higher Judicial Service. On the culmination of the process of selection, the merit list of the selected candidates was released on 22.3.2011. The petitioner was placed at serialno.2 in the merit list. She was accordingly appointed as District Judge (entry level) by the Madhya Pradesh State Legal and Legislative Works Department, vide order dated 8.7.2011. She was deputed for training on 30.7.2011 and was posted as Additional District and Sessions Judge, Gwalior. The contents of the writ petition are systematically divided into various components. In the first part of the writ petition, the petitioner endeavours to demonstrate her efficient discharge of duties. For this, reliance has been placed on an order passed by the Sessions Judge, Gwalior dated 9.10.2012(while exercising powers under Sections 408 and 409 of the Criminal Procedure Code), whereby all sessions cases, criminal appeals, criminal revisions and miscellaneous criminal cases etc. pending in the Court of the 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, were transferred to the Court of the petitioner. Relying on the above order, it is the petitioner’s contention, that her superiors immediately recognized her professional caliber, and afforded her an opportunity to deal with the important and sensitive cases. On 23.1.2013, the Sessions Judge, Gwalior, nominated the petitioner for regular hearing and expeditious disposal of heinous and sensational cases involving offences of rape, gang-rape, rape with murder etc. under the Indian Penal Code. It is further brought out, that on 9.4.2013, the petitioner was appointed as the President of the Vishaka Committee (in compliance with the directions issued by this Court in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan,(1997) 6 SCC 241), by the District and Sessions Judge, Gwalior. Itis also pointed out, that the High Court (in exercise of the power vested in it under Section 6(2) of the Madhya Pradesh Dekaiti Aur Vyapaharan Prabhavit Kshotra Adhiniyam, 1981) appointed the petitioner as “Special Judge” for dealing with matters falling in a defined area within the territorial jurisdiction of Gwalior Sessions Division. It is pointed out that again, through a notification dated 10.5.2013 (in exercise of the power under Section 9(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure), the High Court designated the petitioner as “Presiding Officer” for speedy trial of offences of rape, gang-rape, murder with rape and other related offences. It is also the case of the petitioner, that the petitioner’s performance came to be evaluated by the District and Sessions Judge in a report dated 5.1.2013. It is submitted, that there afterin April 2013, the District Judge (Inspection and Vigilance)inspected the civil and criminal records and assessed the petitioner’s performance….read more