The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the promotion of 40 judicial officers who had been made district judges by Gujarat High Court and the state government, saying the elevations were “illegal and contrary to relevant rules”.

The promotion of 28 other judicial officers, including Harish Hasmukbhai Varma who convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail, will not be affected, sources said.

The top court noted that in the case of the 40 judicial officers, seniority had been given more weightage than merit, instead of the other way round. The Supreme Court bench referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India for the final hearing on August 8.

“We are more than satisfied that the impugned Select List dated 10.03.2023 issued by the High Court and the subsequent Notification dated 18.04.2023 issued by the State Government granting promotion to the cadre of District Judge are illegal and contrary to the relevant Rules and Regulations and even to the decision of this Court in the case of All India Judges’ Association and Ors (2002 judgment). Therefore, we are more than prima facie satisfied that the same as such are not sustainable,” a bench of Justices M.R. Shah and C.T. Ravikumar said in a judgment.

The apex court was dealing with an appeal filed by senior civil judge Ravikumar Dhansukhlal Maheta and another judge challenging the promotion list that contained the names of 68 judicial officers.

The two judges had challenged the promotion list on the ground that the high court had ignored the rule of adopting a “merit-cum-seniority principle-cum-suitability test” in making the appointments. Instead, the high court chose the “seniority-cum-merit-cum suitability test” process, relegating the merit criterion to the second position, which denied the two judges promotion despite having scored high on the merit list.

The list of promoted judicial officers includes the name of Harish Hasmukbhai Varma, who had on March 23 sentenced Rahul to two years’ imprisonment in a defamation case related to the Congress leader’s remark on the “Modi surname” and thieves. The petition had been filed by former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

Contrary to some media reports, Varma’s elevation has not been interdicted by the Supreme Court. His name figured on the merit list and is among those cleared by the Supreme Court.

“Most media houses have widely reported that Judge Varma’s elevation has been stalled, but the news is totally incorrect. It is entirely wrong,” advocate-on-record Purvish Jitendera Malkan told The Telegraph.

Malkan was the lawyer for Judge Ravikumar Dhansukhlal Maheta.

The 40 judicial officers whose promotion was stalled on Friday had been selected on the basis of seniority and they did not feature on the merit list. Justice Shah, who authored the judgment, said the candidates promoted on the basis of the “merit list” shall not be affected.

“Government has issued the impugned Notification dated 18.04.2023 during the pendency of the present writ petition and after the receipt of the notice issued by this Court in the present proceedings and, thus, despite in knowledge of the present proceedings, however, subject to the ultimate outcome of the present writ petition... the State Government could have waited till the next date of hearing by this Court, which was on 28.04.2023,” the Supreme Court said.

“At present, the respective promotees have not assumed their posting on the promotional post and as such are sent for training.... We stay the further implementation and operation of the Select List...,” it added.

“However, it is clarified that the present stay order shall be confined with respect to those promotees whose names do not figure within the first 68 candidates in the merit list,” the court said.