Judge probing Hyatpur case was forced to quit last year

The Haryana government has appointed a former district and sessions judge against whom severe strictures were passed last year by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Hyatpur sarpanch murder and the violence that followed last month.

The Haryana government has appointed a former district and sessions judge against whom severe strictures were passed last year by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Hyatpur sarpanch murder and the violence that followed last month.

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The judge, SK Sardana, took voluntary retirement after being severely admonished by a single bench of justice Permod Kohli and later a division bench of justice Hemant Gupta and Jaswant Singh for making illegal and arbitrary selections of process servers and peons in the office of the district and sessions judge, Rohtak, during his stint. Justice Kohli had quashed the selections.

Sources said that at one point, it was almost decided to compulsorily retire Sardana but he was given an option of an honourable exit by taking voluntary retirement. He had almost two years of service left then.

"I was not made a party by name in the orders passed by Punjab and Haryana High Court. If any stricture or observation is made by a higher authority where the officer is not a party by name, that observation or stricture is not binding on him," Sardana said.

In view of the adverse comments by the high court, the appointment of Sardana to hold judicial inquiry was being viewed as against the tenets of propriety.