After elevation of 2 HC judges, SC collegium yet to act on its call to transfer them, say officials

Usually, transfer of judges is done in the “interest of justice”. But despite repeated pleas by the Centre, the transfer of 2 judges of Rajasthan HC has been pending for over a year now.

File photo of the Supreme Court | ANI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium is yet to act on its recommendation to transfer two sitting judges of the Rajasthan High Court to another jurisdiction, even after more than one-and-a-half years, ThePrint has learnt.

Sources in the government as well as the apex court told ThePrint that the collegium — an apex selection-cum-appointment body — had while clearing the appointment of the two judges in 2021 mentioned that immediately upon their elevation, they would be transferred to another high court by placing the matter before the collegium for this purpose. 

While a three-member panel led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) nominates candidates for high court appointments, this committee gets expanded to include two more judges when it comes to recommending transfer of HC judges. Usually, transfer of judges is done in the “interest of justice” and for “better administration”.

According to government sources, since the collegium had cleared the two names on the condition that they would be transferred upon their appointment, the central government had referred their files back to the appointment panel within a month of their joining the bench. While the first file was sent in October 2021, the second was sent in November 2021. But the collegium has not reverted to the government with its final decision on the two names, a government official said, asking not to be named.

The government had notified the appointment of the two judges in October 2021, however, on separate dates through different notifications. One of them was a case of reiteration. The name of this particular judge was first recommended by the Supreme Court collegium in July 2019, but in February 2020 the government returned the file to it for reconsideration.

In response, the SC collegium in September 2021 reiterated the name. Sources said it was during this reiteration that the collegium suggested the judge’s transfer on his elevation. Hence, in view of this decision by the SC collegium, the government in October 2021 referred this judge’s file back to it with a proposal to transfer him out of the Rajasthan HC. So far, the government has not got any response on it.

With regard to the second judge, ThePrint has learnt that the government had notified his appointment soon after the collegium cleared it. However, in its inputs on the candidate’s background check, the government had put forth its concerns on his elevation.

Considering the government inputs, the collegium, in one of its meetings held in October 2021, while clearing the said name, opined that he be transferred to another HC in the administration of justice. Hence, once the name was notified for elevation by the government, the latter referred the file regarding the said judge’s transfer to the collegium.

“This file was sent to the top court collegium on 17 November 2021, close to a month after the first one. Both the above proposals are pending with it for more than one-and-half years and the collegium still has not taken any call on them. Since the government had referred the proposals, the collegium should decide either ways,” one of the government sources mentioned above said.

Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan