Judge who passed Order that triggered the Manipur violence transferred to Calcutta High Court

The collegium rejected the request of Justice Muralidaran to transfer him to his parent high court, that is, the Madras High Court, or let him continue to function at the Manipur High Court.

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THE Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of Justice M.V. Muralidaran from the Manipur High Court to the Calcutta High Court.

The decision to this effect was taken by the Supreme Court Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant today.

The collegium rejected the request of Justice Muralidaran to transfer him to his parent high court, that is, the Madras High Court, or let him continue to function at the Manipur High Court.

On March 23, 2023, Justice Muralidaran ordered the Manipur government to consider the case of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, and preferably within a period of four weeks. This Order resulted in unrest in the state which is still ongoing.

The CJI had orally remarked during a special leave petition (SLP) hearing challenging the Order that many Constitution Bench judgments clearly state that judicial Orders cannot be passed to change the Scheduled Tribes list.

Recently, a CJI-led Bench expressed its displeasure at Justice Muralidaran for admitting a public interest litigation seeking to quash a report produced by the Editors Guild of India on the Manipur violence. The CJI was of the view that the high court should have better things to do.

On Monday, the Union government had informed the Supreme Court that the file related to the appointment of Delhi High Court's Justice Siddharth Mridul as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court had been cleared and a formal notification to appoint him as chief justice of the state was likely to be issued shortly.

The office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur fell vacant in February 2023 consequent upon the elevation of Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court of India.