The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of senior judge of the Delhi High Court, Justice S Muralidhar, to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The decision was taken by the five-member Collegium, headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, at its meeting on February 12.
Justice Ranjit V More is also proposed to be transferred from the Bombay High Court to the Meghalaya High Court while Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath from the Karnataka High Court to the Uttarakhand High Court.
The recommendations of the apex court collegium will have to be approved by the Law Ministry. If the government sends it back, the collegium has the option to reiterate its decision.
The judges have the option of requesting the collegium to reconsider its decision.
The Executive Committee of the Delhi High Court Bar Association has resolved to observe complete abstinence from work tomorrow to Justice Muralidhar’s transfer.
“Such transfers are not only detrimental to our noble institution but also tend to erode and dislodge the faith of the common litigant in the justice dispensation system. Such transfers also impede free and fair delivery of justice by the Hon’ble Bench”, the resolution stated.”
“The transfer will be a great loss to our institution,” said the association.
Justice Muralidhar’s transfer was discussed twice earlier too. However, it was halted following objections from several Supreme Court judges.
Besides Justice Bobde, the other members of the collegium are Justices N V Ramana, Arun Mishra, R F Nariman and R Banumathi.