The Centre on Tuesday remained mute about a Supreme Court collegium recommendation to transfer Orissa High Court Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
However, it went ahead and notified the transfer of Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, to head the Rajasthan High Court.
Also read | When Justice Muralidhar’s transfer from Delhi High Court triggered a war of words
The collegium had recommended the transfers of both Chief Justices in one batch on September 28. The government has now split the collegium recommendation by notifying Justice Mithal’s transfer but leaving out Justice Muralidhar.
In 2018, the government had unilaterally bifurcated Justice (now retired) Indu Malhotra’s file and appointed her as a Supreme Court judge while returning Justice K.M. Joseph’s name to the collegium.
Both Justices Malhotra and Joseph were part of the same batch of judges recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court.
Justice Muralidhar, when he was a judge of the Delhi High Court, had sharply criticised the Centre and the Delhi Police over the violence in the capital in 2020. He was later transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Lies in limbo
The uncertainty over Justice Muralidhar’s transfer has affected the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation, also on September 28, to elevate Justice Jaswant Singh, currently a judge of the Orissa High Court, as its Chief Justice in place of Justice Muralidhar.
The recommendation on Justice Singh lies in limbo with the government while the other judges recommended by the collegium in the same batch for elevation — Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale of the Bombay High Court and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court — were notified by the government on Tuesday. Justices Varale and Magrey have been appointed Chief Justices of Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir High Courts, respectively.
