Jayant Patel, who ordered CBI probe into Ishrat Jahan encounter case, quits as Karnataka HC judge

Karnataka High Court’s most senior judge Jayant Patel, who had ordered a CBI investigation in the controversial Ishrat Jahan encounter case in Gujarat, on Monday resigned reportedly for not being elevated as chief justice. Patel, the senior-most judge of the Karnataka High Court after the chief justice, sent his resignation letter to Chief Justice SK Mukherjee. It is believed Justice Patel, who was Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court before being posted to Bengaluru, resigned in a huff over his transfer to the Allahabad High Court, where he would be the third most senior judge. [caption id=“attachment_4082559” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Karnataka High Court judge Jayant Patel. Image courtesy: karnatakajudiciary.kar.nic.in[/caption] In fact, the Gujarat High Court Bar Association had even raised the non-appointment of Justice Patel with the Collegium and called it shocking. This was when he was transferred as a judge in the Karnataka High Court after being an Acting Chief Justice. Terming the development as “shocking”, the letter stated: “The non-appointment of Hon’ble Justice Jayant Patel and Hon’ble Justice Abhilasha Kumari as Chief Justice of High Court without any lawful reason or justification is shocking.” Justice Patel had not only ordered a CBI investigation in the controversial encounter case of Ishrat Jahan but had also monitored the probe, which included looking into the role of officials of Intelligence Bureau. Patel was sworn in as a judge of Karnataka High Court on February 13 last year, while he was appointed the Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on 13 August, 2015.

Patel entered the Bar in August, 1979 and initially started practice at District Court, Rajkot. In 1985, he shifted to Gujarat High Court. In 2001, Patel was elevated to the position of Additional Judge, High Court of Gujarat, and was confirmed as permanent Judge in August 2004.

With inputs from IANS