Orders passed by Justice Pardiwala put Supreme Court in bind, leading to CJI's intervention

New Delhi: In less than a month, three orders passed by a bench headed by Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala has caught the Supreme Court in a bind, leading Chief Justice B R Gavai to intervene in the matters.

Observations against Allahabad HC

In the first matter, Justice Pardiwala, who will serve a two-year term as the Chief Justice of India starting May 2028, criticised Allahabad High Court judge Prashant Kumar for allowing criminal proceedings in a civil dispute case, and stripped him of criminal matters till retirement.

Several senior judges of the top court expressed displeasure over the order passed by Justice Pardiwala and conveyed their thoughts to the CJI.

This prompted CJI Gavai to ask Justice Pardiwala to reconsider his observations.

On August 8, Justice Pardiwala deleted his observations, making it clear that the intention was not to embarrass or cast aspersions on Prashant Kumar.

Order on stray dogs

Noting an "extremely grim" situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children, a bench led by Justice Pardiwala directed Delhi-NCR authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters "at the earliest".

The apex court order faced criticism from dog lovers and several animal welfare organisations, forcing CJI Gavai to transfer the matter to a three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath.

The Justice Vikram Nath-led bench on August 22 modified the earlier direction prohibiting the release of vaccinated stray dogs from pounds in Delhi-NCR, calling it "too harsh", and ordered the canines to be released post sterilisation and de-worming.

Ecological imbalance in Himachal Pradesh

A bench of Justices Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on July 28 flagged the ecological imbalance in Himachal Pradesh and cautioned that the entire state may "vanish into thin air" if the situation did not change.

"We want to impress upon the state government and the Union of India that earning revenue is not everything. Revenue cannot be earned at the cost of environment and ecology," the bench said.

"If things proceed the way they are as on date, the day is not far when the entire state of HP may vanish into thin air from the map of the country. God forbid this doesn't happen," the bench said.

Now, this matter has also been taken away from Justice Pardiwala and assigned to a three-judge bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath.

Born on August 12, 1965, in Mumbai, Justice Pardiwala graduated from the JP Arts College in Valsad in 1985.

He obtained a law degree from the KM Law College, Valsad, in 1988.

Born into a family of lawyers, he hails from the native town of Valsad in south Gujarat.

On May 9, 2022, he was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court.