The Supreme Court Collegium has rejected the request made by Justice V.M. Velumani, seeking transfer to a High Court of the North-Eastern States, preferably Manipur or Tripura, on the grounds that there was no valid reason to reconsider her transfer to the Calcutta High Court, which was recommended by the Collegium on September 29, 2022.
In its meeting on March 28, the Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and also comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice K.M. Joseph, Justice M.R. Shah and Justice Ajay Rastogi noted that Justice Velumani was appointed as a Judge of the Madras High Court on December 20, 2013.
By way of its resolution on September 29, 2022, the Collegium proposed her transfer to the Calcutta High Court for better administration of justice.
Justice Velumani sought reconsideration of this recommendation by a letter dated October 14, 2022. She further requested to be retained at the Madras High Court. However, her request was rejected by the Collegium, which reiterated the recommendation for her transfer by a resolution dated November 24, 2022.
On March 17 this year, Justice Velumani, by way of a communication, sought transfer to a High Court of the North-Eastern States, preferably Manipur or Tripura, on the ground that she would then be able to retain her official accommodation at Chennai.
The Collegium noted on Tuesday that there was no valid reason to reconsider the earlier decision of the Collegium by which Justice Velumani’s transfer has been recommended to the Calcutta High Court or to accede to her fresh request. Her request for transfer to either Manipur or Tripura or any High Court in the North-eastern States has been rejected, it added.
Read the Supreme Court Collegium resolution here:
Justice-Velumani