Former UP Advocate General & Petitioner In 'First Judges Case' Sr Adv Surya Prakash Gupta Passes Away

Former Uttar Pradesh Advocate General and petitioner in the First Judges Case (the first of the 'Three Judges Cases'), Senior Advocate SP Gupta passed away on January 16, 2022. He was 92 and had been unwell for past few days.

SP Gupta was enrolled as an advocate in the year 1951 and was designated as a Senior in 1979. He had the opportunity to serve as the Advocate General for the State of Uttar Pradesh twice.

He regularly argued with civil matters in the Allahabad High Court and remained a popular figure among the lawyers due to his simple and soft-spoken nature. His son Sunil Gupta is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court.

In the first Judges case, a 7-judge bench had held that Judicial transfers (in HCs and SC) must be in the national interest, and after consultation with the Chief Justice of India. However, it was also clarified in this Judgment that the opinion of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) can be vetoed by the executive on the ground of 'cogent reasons'.

It may be noted that this Judgment was later on overruled and now the appointments are made by the collegium which means that the Judiciary holds primacy in the matters of judicial; appointments and transfers.