Justice Haq’s transfer: Lawyers to restart protest from Monday

Nagpur: After their request to stop justice Zaka Haq’s transfer to Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench was rejected, lawyers from the city have decided to restart their protests from Monday.
Chief Justice (CJ) Pradeep Nandrajog had rejected request made by the lawyers through High Court Bar Association (HCBA) for cancelling transfer orders of the judge who they termed as the most upright, honest and dedicated.
Currently, justice Haq is on a long leave till further notice and hadn’t joined the new posting at Aurangabad, as per the lawyers. TOI has been following the issue since January 21 when HCBA passed a resolution to protest the transfer.
Well-known lawyer Shreerang Bhandarkar told media that they will be protesting with white ribbons on the first day that is on Monday. “It will be followed by pink and red ribbons on the next two days. Our protests would be completely peaceful till February 22,” he said.
Claiming that he had support of most of the lawyers practicing in HC’s Nagpur bench and District and Sessions Court here, Bhandarkar warned that protests would be intensified after February 22. “Since the incumbent CJ is retiring on that date, we will move another resolution in HCBA for approaching the new CJ in this regard. We are hopeful our prayers would be heard. Otherwise, we will intensify the agitation and take steps like totally boycotting the court work,” Bhandarkar said.
Other lawyers said sudden transfer of the sitting judge, who was doing wonders in the judiciary and also streamlining the system, was nothing but a big humiliation of entire legal fraternity of city. Due to him the entire system is working well and bail matters are listed quickly. Earlier, it used to take days for these cases to come up for hearing. His efforts have also led to bringing discipline in the judicial system, which was working at snail’s pace. Just because he had issued a contempt notice to a lawyer from a powerful group and also HC registrar, complaints were lodged against him they told TOI.
The HCBA delegation led by senior counsel Shreehari Aney had met CJ Nandrajog in February first week with the resolution requesting cancellation of justice Haq’s transfer. The CJ defended his decision stating that he wanted a dynamic lawyer at the Aurangabad bench who could also effectively look after Public Interest Litigations (PILs), besides regular civil and criminal cases.
Box — HCBA differs with lawyers’ stand
The HCBA has clarified that they haven’t taken any decision to restart protest against justice Haq’s transfer and wouldn’t be part of the lawyers group which would be doing it from Monday. “It must be an individual decision of some lawyers, who are free to do it. We haven’t taken any such decision as of now,” secretary Prafulla Khubalkar said.
On lawyers’ call to move another resolution and send it to new CJ after February 22, he stated that nothing of this sort has been discussed by the HCBA’s executive body.