Setting an example in the interest of justice, the Gujarat High Court has stayed the transfer of a sessions judge posted at Ahmedabad, who has already completed a marathon trial in a decade-old hooch tragedy case and is due to pronounce the verdict in the matter. 125 people had died due to the consumption of spurious and toxic liquor between July 5 and 7, 2009 in Odhav area of city. The trial, after passing on to several hands, was finally completed by sessions judge DP Mahida.
The stay on Justice Mahida's transfer was granted by the high court's division bench of Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav after one of the 24 under-trial accused in the case, Harishankar Kahar, who is languishing in jail for almost the past 10 years, moved the high court seeking a stay on the session judge's transfer. Notably, the high court administration had recently issued transfer and posting orders for several lower court judges, with Justice Mahida being one of them.
After hearing the submissions made by the counsel for Kahar, the division bench immediately stayed the transfer for the time being, while remarking that the same was being done in the "interest of justice" and since the case is at the "stage of judgment" pursuant to an order of the high court directing the sessions court to conduct a day-to-day hearing to finish the trial.
Kahar stated to the high court that Justice Mahida after investing over two months of court's time and by conducting day-to-day hearing has completed the examination and cross-examination of witnesses, hearing, and final arguments in the case. The sessions judge has already reserve judgment and is likely to pronounce the verdict soon.
Interestingly, Justice Mahida had already pronounced the verdict in a related case of hooch tragedy in Kagdapith area in which 23 people had died on March 28, when the Odhav case was at an advanced stage of trial.
The division bench has now posted the matter for further hearing on June 14.
