10 judges receive a show-cause order from the Gujarat High Court for failing to resolve a case that has been pending since 1977.

As a result of the failure to resolve a 45-year-old lawsuit [Patel Ambalal Kalidas vs. Patel Motibhai Kalidas] despite express orders from the High Court, the Gujarat High Court on Monday sent show-cause notices to ten judicial officers in the State and demanded an explanation as to why contempt of court proceedings should not be brought against them.

A panel of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J. Shastri expressed dismay upon learning that the procedures in the 1977 lawsuit had not been concluded by 16 judicial officers who have intermittently presided over a court in the Anand district since December 2004.

The High Court’s directive to resolve the case as soon as possible by December 31, 2005, was flagrantly disregarded, the Court claimed.

This news is written by Ms. Amrita Singh, Research Assistant, All India Legal Forum.