Gujarat HC dismisses ex-civil judge’s plea for reinstatement

Gujarat High Court has dismissed the petition of a former civil judge Mayuri Panchal seeking reinstatement after she was found to be unsuitable and her services terminated. She was also alleged to have forged and circulated bogus resignation letters of the Additional Sessions Judge of Surendranagar.

Mayuri Panchal’s reinstatement row

Panchal, a civil judge (junior division), was appointed in 2013 with a two-year probation. However, after her performance was found to be unsatisfactory, an order was issued to terminate her services.

A departmental inquiry was also conducted into her conduct. However, the high court decided not to take any action against her then. It upheld the extension of her probation till March 2022.

However, upset over being asked to leave in March 2022, Panchal challenged her dismissal in the HC. The  plea was rejected by a bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee.

Resignation letters forged?

As per the case details, two separate complaints were lodged at Limbdi police station in Surendranagar in 2021, alleging that the resignation letter of two judges had been forged and tampered with by Panchal.

When the Principal District Judge, Surendranagar, sought clarification on this matter, the judge denied writing the letters, and the whole conspiracy was unravelled, causing a major stir in the lower judiciary.

The high court had rejected her anticipatory bail plea in December 2022 in this case. Following this, she also took the matter to the Supreme Court, but eventually withdrew her pleas in May.