BENGALURU: Advocates and legal experts in the state have felt that injustice had been meted out to Justice Patel. Justice N Santhosh Hegde, retired judge of Supreme Court, said that Justice Patel did the right thing by quitting over his transfer. “If they think he does not deserve to be a chief justice, how can he continue as a judge?” asked Justice Hegde.
Advocate General Madhusudan R Naik termed the transfer as unfair. “It is very unfortunate to see an excellent judge being shunted out from one place to another,” he added.
“The sudden transfer of a morally upright judge has made people lose faith in higher judiciary. When we look at the justice delivery system in the State, it seems there was no value for honesty,” said Y R Sadashiva Reddy,
Co-Chairman of Bar Council of India and Special Committee Member of Karnataka State Bar Council. The Bar Council resolved to convene a meeting on Wednesday, as per the advice of Advocate General Madhusudan Naik, to decide the future course of action, said Sadashiva Reddy. Sources in the Congress government told Express that Justice Patel was given a raw deal. “He was upset as his promotion was not cleared,’’ sources added.