While Justice Anu Sivaraman sought the transfer in October last year, Justices Sujoy Paul and Moushumi Bhattacharya sought their transfers on the same day, that is, on February 12 this year.
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ON Tuesday, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the transfer of three judges from their respective parent high courts to other high courts on personal grounds as asked for by the transferee judges.
Accepting the request of Kerala High Court judge Justice Anu Sivaraman, the collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, has recommended her transfer to the Karnataka High Court. Justice Sivaraman had sought her transfer out of Kerala on October 16, 2023 of her own accord.
The collegium resolution shed no light on the reasons cited by Justice Sivaraman for her transfer. She was appointed as judge of the Kerala High Court on April 10, 2015.
She is presently at serial number 7 in the Kerala High Court in seniority. If appointed to the Karnataka High Court, Justice Sivaraman will become the senior-most judge after the Chief Justice of the high court Justice P.R. Dinesh Kumar. Justice Sivaraman is due to retire on May 24, 2028.
The collegium has also recommended the transfer of Justice Sujoy Paul from the Madhya Pradesh High Court to the Telangana High Court. Justice Paul sought his transfer out of Madhya Pradesh on February 12 on the ground that his son is practising in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.
He was appointed as judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 27, 2011. At present, he is at serial number 3 in terms of seniority in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. If he is appointed to the Telangana High Court, he will become the senior-most judge there. Justice Paul is slated to retire on June 20, 2026.
The collegium has also recommended the transfer of Calcutta High Court judge Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya to the High Court of the Telangana. She also sought her transfer on February 12 for personal reasons not disclosed by the collegium.
She was appointed as judge of the Calcutta High Court on September 21, 2017. Currently, she is at serial number 16 in seniority in the Calcutta High Court. If Justice Bhattacharya is appointed to the Telangana High Court, she will become the fifth senior-most judge in that high court if Justice Sujoy Paul is also appointed to the Telangana High Court. Justice Bhattacharya is due to retire on October 26, 2029.
The collegium resolutions do not spell out the reason given by Justice Sivaraman and Justice Bhattacharya for their transfers. However, the resolution regarding Justice Paul does mention the reasons for which he sought his transfer. While Justice Sivaraman sought the transfer in October last year, the two other judges sought their transfers on the same day, that is, on February 12.