WITHIN THREE MONTHS of a mass transfer of High Court judges, the Supreme Court Collegium, on August 26, 2025, decided to transfer 14 judges from one High Court to another, including two repatriations.
Three judges are proposed to be transferred to the Delhi High Court from other High Courts, while one judge from the Delhi High Court is being transferred out.
One judge, recently transferred to the Delhi High Court, is being sent back to the Rajasthan High Court.
The decision to transfer these judges was made by a collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari, and B.V. Nagarathna.
The reasons for these transfers have not been disclosed by the Collegium, as its functioning remains shrouded in secrecy, lacking transparency.
The reasons for these transfers have not been disclosed by the Collegium, as its functioning remains shrouded in secrecy, lacking transparency.
High Courts of Delhi, Rajasthan, Kerala and Madras
The Collegium has recommended transferring Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju from the Delhi High Court to the Karnataka High Court and Justice Arun Monga from the Delhi High Court to the Rajasthan High Court.
Notably, Justice Monga was transferred to the Delhi High Court from the Rajasthan High Court in May 2025 and assumed office there last month. The reasons necessitating his return to the Rajasthan High Court are not in the public domain. Justice Monga originally hails from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
At the Delhi High Court, Justice Monga is at serial number 14 in seniority, and Justice Ganju is at serial number 21. In the Rajasthan High Court, Justice Monga will be at serial number 7, while Justice Ganju will be at serial number 38 in the Karnataka High Court.
The Collegium has also decided to transfer two judges from the Rajasthan High Court to the Delhi High Court namely Justices Dinesh Mehta and Avneesh Jhingan. The latter originally hails from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In the Rajasthan High Court, they are at serial numbers 4 and 8, respectively. At the Delhi High Court, Justice Mehta will be at serial number 4, and Justice Jhingan will be at serial number 10.
Additionally, the Collegium has recommended transferring Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha from the Kerala High Court to the Delhi High Court. She is at serial number 27 in the Kerala High Court and will be at serial number 20 in the Delhi High Court.
If the Union government accepts the Collegium’s latest recommendations, the Delhi High Court will have nine judges from other High Courts, excluding its Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya.
Justice J. Nisha Banu is proposed to be transferred from the Madras High Court to the Kerala High Court.
High Courts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Allahabad, Gujarat, and Calcutta
The Collegium has recommended transferring Justice Atul Sreedharan from the Madhya Pradesh High Court to the Chhattisgarh High Court. He is at serial number 2 in his parent High Court and will be at serial number 3 in the Chhattisgarh High Court.
Notably, Justice Sreedharan was recently repatriated to the Madhya Pradesh High Court from the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. A bench headed by him at the Madhya Pradesh High Court had taken suo motu action against BJP Minister Vijay Shah for using “scurrilous language” against Col. Sofia Quraishi and ordered an FIR against him.
Justice Sandeep Natvarlal Bhatt is being transferred from the Gujarat High Court to the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He is at serial number 17 in the Gujarat High Court and will be at serial number 14 in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Notably, Justice Sreedharan was recently repatriated to the Madhya Pradesh High Court from the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Justice Manavendranath Roy is proposed to be repatriated to his parent high court, the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Justice Sanjay Agrawal, currently at serial number 3 in the Chhattisgarh High Court, is being transferred to the Allahabad High Court, where he will be at serial number 9.
Two judges from the Allahabad High Court, Justices Sanjay Kumar Singh (serial number 33) and Rohit Ranjan Agarwal (serial number 42), are being transferred to the Patna High Court and the Calcutta High Court, respectively. Justice Donadi Ramesh is being repatriated to his parent high court, the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Justice Singh will be at serial number 8 in the Patna High Court, and Justice Agarwal will be at serial number 19 in the Calcutta High Court. Justice Donadi will be at serial number 5 in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
The Collegium has also recommended transferring Justice Subhendu Samanta from the Calcutta High Court to the Andhra Pradesh High Court.