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SUBMISSIONS OF THE PETITIONER

9. Shri S.B. Talekar, the President of the Petitioner appearing in person has made detailed submissions. We must note here that he filed Written Submissions on 19th September 2014 in which he has stated that as an Officer of the Court, he was not desirous of pressing the allegations of mala fide against the Hon'ble the Chief Justice. His submission is that though the Hon'ble the Chief Justice enjoys the power to allocate business amongst the Judges or to fix a roster and transfer the matters from Benches to the Principal Seat at Mumbai, such powers cannot take away or override the power of judicial review conferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. He urged that the power to transfer the cases from Benches to the Principal Seat at Mumbai can be exercised in part-heard matters provided there was a justifiable or compelling reason. His submission is that the Bench at Aurangabad has been established to provide an easy access to justice to the litigants falling within its jurisdiction. His submission is that no attempt should be made to tinker with the judicial power of the review ash 12 wp-10048,1860n8182.12 conferred on the Judges sitting at Aurangabad by Article 226 of the Constitution of India in the garb of exercise of power of transfer by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice. He submitted that the power of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and the independence of the judiciary are the facets of basic structure of the Constitution as held in the case of Kesavananda Bharat Sripadagalvaru v. State of Kerala1. While conceding that the Hon'ble the Chief Justice has power to transfer the cases from one Bench to another, he urged that it is necessary to consider the manner in which the said power is exercised in the present cases.