Kochi: Rishikesh Roy, acting chief justice of the Kerala High Court, on Wednesday annulled the decision of the former chief justice Antony Dominic shifting a case listed in the Bench of Justice Chidambaresh to another Bench on the request of lawyers.
The acting CJ also observed that it is not for advocates to decide which judge should hear a case. Advocates dictating the choice of judges cannot be allowed or desirable, he observed. He took the unprecedented step saying it amounted to ‘bench hunting' and ‘forum shopping’.
Bench hunting and forum shopping are technical terms used in judicial circles to describe the practice of advocates choosing judges.
The high court administrative committee presided over by Justice Dominic had shifted a case from the Bench of Justice Chidambaresh on the request of four advocates.
It was a case related to missing of files of litigation linked to a land dispute in Palakkad district.
The HC registrar probed the matter and submitted a report stating that the file could have been removed by either the advocate or his clerical staff with the connivance of the official concerned.
Justice Chidambaresh made certain remarks against the advocates during the hearing of the case, and then they approached the then chief justice with the request. The administrative committee he chaired on May 28 duly obliged.
Apart from this case, certain other decisions regarding the changes in the benches by the former CJ had snowballed into a controversy with retired judge Kamal Pasha raising objections.
