The government has been following a policy of pick-and-choose despite the Supreme Court time and again expressing its concerns over the government’s action of selectively giving effect to the collegium’s recommendations.
—
ON Monday, the Union government notified the transfer of five high court judges. The transferee judges belong to Allahabad, Calcutta and Telangana high courts.
Justice Vivek Kumar Singh has been shifted from the Allahabad High Court to the Madras High Court. Two judges of the Calcutta High Court namely Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Bibek Chaudhari have been moved out to the Allahabad and Patna high courts respectively.
Justice M. Sudheer Kumar and Justice C. Sumalatha, both from the Telangana High Court, are being sent to the Madras and Karnataka high courts respectively.
A five-judge collegium comprising Chief Justice of India Dr D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices S.K. Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, and Surya Kant had made recommendations to transfer out these five judges in August this year.
Last month, the Union government notified the transfer of a total of 16 judges as sought by the collegium. Most of these recommendations were made in August.
However, the Union government is continuing to sit over the collegium’s recommendations to transfer out four Gujarat High Court judges namely Justices Alpesh Y. Kogje, Kumari Gita Gopi, Hemant M. Prachchhak, and Samir J. Dave. The collegium decided to move them out to the high courts of Allahabad, Madras, Patna, and Rajasthan respectively.
In addition, the government is yet to notify the transfer of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Prakash Padia to the Jharkhand High Court. The government is still holding back the transfer of Delhi High Court’s Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar to the Rajasthan High Court.
The government has been following a policy of pick-and-choose despite the Supreme Court time and again expressing its concerns over the government’s action of selectively giving effect to the collegium’s recommendations.
