The Bench & Transfers

January 2016 has seen a major reshuffle in the High Courts of India with chiefs of nearly 10 high courts changed without the elevation of any judge to the Supreme Court of India and as per sources some more transfers to follow by.

Starting from the nearest High court of Punjab and Haryana.  Their two senior most judges Justice S.K. Mittal being sent to Rajasthan High Court to preside as Chief Justice for Rajasthan. Justice Mittal, who was elevated as a judge in July 2002 is probably witnessing the first transfer of his tenure. 

Thereafter, Justice Mr. Hemant Gupta the second senior most judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana is now the Acting Chief justice of Patna High Court. As per court rumours the new ACJ will be promoted as the chief very soon. But, it is still unknown what has prevented the same now.

Moving forward, Justice Mr. Ajit Singh who was the acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court has got his new seat as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Gauhati. A wonderful place to spend time and that too in a dignified protocol. Another judge, the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Justice Mr. D H Waghela has got a bigger High Court. He will now preside from the bench of High Court of Maharashtra (I fail to interpret this as an increment or a burden).  Allahabad, a major centre for bar and bench cannot be left untouched in this resettling, the senior most Judge Justice Mr. Vineet Saran has been moved to Orissa High Court as Chief Justice (It is rumoured that he was not sharing cordial relations with the his chief). Another senior judge of the Allahabad High Court Justice Mr. Dinesh Maheshwari has replaced Chief Justice of Meghalaya High court Justice Mr. U.N. Singh who got retired. Justice Mr. U.N. Singh (retd) was the senior judge in Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court before being transferred as Chief to Meghalaya. Now, as per the sources he will preside in the State Human Rights Commission of Delhi. 

Acting Chief Justice, Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee of Karnataka High Court has been appointed chief justice of Karnataka High Court (???).  Lastly but not the least senior judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court as been moved to Gujarat as the Acting Chief Justice. Now Justice R Subash Reddy has develop a liking towards khakra and phapara to soon hold the chair of the chief justice of Gujarat High Court!

Apart from these transfers, as per rumours in the fraternity, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttar Pradesh Justice Mr. D.Y. Chandrachund (a known surname in the legal fraternity of India) is coming to Delhi (a major setback to AAP government, because he is very famous for his orders against the government). Justice G Rohini is moving to the Madras High court from Delhi by handing over the charge to Justice Mr. D Y Chandrachud (if rumours are to be believed). The Chief Justice of Madras High Court Justice Mr. Sanjay Kishan Kaul being sent to Allahabad in the same capacity.  Let’s see what improvements or deficiencies the bar has to witness as a result of these reshufflings. 

Courtesy: Rahul Dubey, Advocate

Appointment of Judges- The Collegium System

The process of appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts has been sort of a mystery. While the Constitution does contain provisions for the appointment of Judges, it does not law down a specific procedure. Presently, the appointment of Judges is carried out by the Collegium system which was developed through a series of Supreme Court Judgements, known as the Three Judges’ Cases. Judicial Appointments Bill was drafted by the previous government. This bill proposed to do away with the collegium system, which has been criticised on various grounds, and create a Judicial Appointments Commission, consisting of CJI, Supreme Court Judges, Law Minister, Law Secretary, eminent jurists and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Article 124 of the Constitution, which talks about appointment of Supreme Court Judges, was to be amended to make JAC as the advisory body.

Judicial Reforms, especially those related to the appointment and transfer of judges in the higher judiciary are highly desirable. Judiciary should above controversy and suspicion. The appointments should be based only on merit and not on any other factors.

Here is a detailed analysis of the COLLEGIUM SYSTEM and the <<Judicial Appointments Bill>>

Gopal Subramanium Withdraws Candidature

Mr Gopal Subramanium today withdrew his candidature for appointment as a Supreme Court Judge. This comes after the Ministry of Law and Justice rejected his name from a list of four names recommended for appointment as Supreme Court Judges. In a letter to the Chief Justice of India, Mr Subramanium described the Law Ministry’s move as a “dirt digging exercise with a clear mandate to describe me as unsuitable”. He further stated that he was being targeted for “displaying integrity and independence”. He also expressed his disappointment as the Supreme Court “did not stand by him”. As per settled law, even after a name is rejected once, the Law Ministry shall have to clear it if the collegium reiterates its recommendation.  

Mr Subramanium, a Senior Advocate, along with three others, Senior Advocate, Mr Rohinton F. Nariman, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Justice Arun Mishra and the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, Justice A.K Goel had been recommended for appointment as Judges of the Supreme Court of India. While the Law Ministry cleared the names of the other three persons, Mr Subramanium’s name was rejected after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged that he met with the lawyers representing the former Telecom Minister A. Raja in the 2G case. It was also alleged that he had links with the corporate lobbyist Niira Radia.  Mr Subramanium has denied these allegations in his letter.

Mr Subramanium has also served as the Solicitor General of India but resigned in 2011 over differences with the previous government.