Ahmedabad, Nov 17 (IANS): Gujarat High Court Advocates on Thursday launched an indefinite protest against the transfer of the High Court's sitting Judge Nikhil S. Kariel and termed it "Death of Independence of Judiciary".

The agitating advocates assembled in the First Court hall as a mark of protest.

On Wednesday evening, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to transfer Judge Kareil from Gujarat High Court to Patna High Court.

The news was reported by Bar & Bench on Thursday.

Chief Justice Arvind Kumar was surprised to see lawyers assembling in his courtroom, on inquiring, a senior lawyer informed the court that they have assembled to observe a

two-minute silence in protest of transfer of sitting judge Kariel.

Dubbing it "Death of Independence of Judiciary", the lawyers said that normally the Chief Justice of the High Court is consulted before transferring any judge.

Post lunch, the advocate association decided to abstain from work indefinitely.

Judge Nikhil Kariel was enrolled with the Bar Council of Gujarat in 1988 and was practising civil, service and criminal laws. He was elevated as Gujarat High Court judge on October4, 2020.