NEW DELHI: Supreme Court collegium is trying to break away from the unwritten norms for transfer of judges from one high court to another, done so far on the basis of a judge's integrity, conduct, requirement of expertise in another HC and, very often, because of his/her closeness to an ex-CJI or ex-collegium member.The five-member SC collegium led by CJI Surya Kant and comprising Justices Vikram Nath, B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh and P S Narasimha had an informal discussion last week on evolving a well-defined policy framework to streamline the process for transfer of judges from their parent HC to another. They felt that random or pick-and-choose methods of transfer for reasons that are not objective must be discarded. A proposal for transfer of a judge from his/her parent HC to another could be moved for various reasons.Judge ‘close to’ CJI runs transfer risk once mentor leaves officeFor instance, an HC judge, high in seniority, could be transferred to prepare him/her for taking over as CJ of that HC. There have also been occasions when a senior judge…
Collegium wants transfer of HC judges streamlined, random ways discarded
In short
The Supreme Court collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant alongside four senior justices, recently held informal talks to discard pick-and-choose transfer practices. While relocations historically prepared judges for leadership or resolved interpersonal friction, recent years saw transfers heavily utilized as punitive actions following conduct complaints. The proposed framework intends to introduce corrective periods for judges facing complaints before any reassignment occurs. Additionally, the discussions contemplate mechanisms to review transfer recommendations that the central government has left pending for years.
Key points
- The collegium aims to eliminate arbitrary, non-objective methods that historically permit…: The collegium aims to eliminate arbitrary, non-objective methods that historically permitted retribution against judges whose mentors had retired.
- A well-defined policy will replace unwritten norms while addressing long-pending governme…: A well-defined policy will replace unwritten norms while addressing long-pending government delays on judicial transfer proposals.
- Future protocols may shift high court transfers away from immediate punitive measures by…: Future protocols may shift high court transfers away from immediate punitive measures by introducing preliminary conduct-correction periods.