Week after SC recommends rejig of judges in Delhi HC, lawyers’ body flags ‘alarming frequency’ of transfers
The SC Collegium on August 27 recommended the transfer of two judges of the Delhi High Court — Justice Arun Monga and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju — to the Rajasthan and Karnataka HC, respectively
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Once the SC Collegium’s latest set of recommendations gets Centre’s nod, the Delhi HC, which has a total strength of 45, is set to see a total of 10 judges from outside of the Capital (Archive)A week after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the rejig of five judges in the Delhi High Court, the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) on Monday expressed concern at the “alarming frequency with which the transfer of judges is being affected”. There is “a prevalent perception within the Delhi High Court Bar that its members are overlooked for consideration when judicial appointments are made,” the lawyers’ body underlined in a letter to the Collegium.
The SC Collegium on August 27 recommended the transfer of two judges of the Delhi High Court — Justice Arun Monga and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju — to the Rajasthan and Karnataka HC, respectively. It also recommended the transfer of three judges to the Delhi HC — Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Avneesh Jhingan from the Rajasthan HC and Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha from the Kerala HC.
Justice Monga’s recommendation for transfer by the Collegium comes a little over a month after he took charge in the Delhi HC after his transfer from Rajasthan High Court.
In the letter, signed by senior advocate and DHCBA president N Hariharan and DHCBA secretary Vikram Singh Panwar, the lawyers’ body on Monday emphasised that even as the power for transfers and appointments of judges vests exclusively with the Collegium, “the Bar is an equal stakeholder” which has been “invariably kept in the dark when crucial decisions regarding elevation and transfers” of the judges.
Seeking “greater transparency and consultation” in such processes of appointments and transfers, the DHCBA highlighted that “transfers of several judges from this court (Delhi HC) to other jurisdictions have generated unease, not only within the institution but also amongst the members of the Bar.”
“Judges who have risen through the ranks of the Bar, carry with them an invaluable understanding of the pulse of the city and its courts, and the recent transfers underscore how essential judicial continuity is, and how deeply the Bar values judges who have journeyed alongside it over the decades,” the letter read. “The recent spate of transfers has further exacerbated the situation where there is a widening gap between the Judges who adorn our bench and the lived experience of litigants in the local context of our city…”
The DHCBA’s letter underlined that if the prevailing perceptions are left unaddressed, it risks “eroding the morale of the Bar as well as diminishing faith in the established processes of judicial elevation and transfer”, and that Delhi HC requires “stability, continuity and confidence of both the Bench and the Bar to discharge its duties effectively”.
It also stated, “…In as much as the Bar welcomes judges who come from other states as they add to the cosmopolitan character of the bench today, we are faced with a peculiar situation where nearly 1/3rd of its strength comprises judges from other jurisdictions while the members of the Bar remain overlooked.”
Once the SC Collegium’s latest set of recommendations gets Centre’s nod, the Delhi HC, which has a total strength of 45, is set to see a total of 10 judges from outside of the Capital. Following the Centre’s approval, six of the top 10 judges, as per the seniority, will also be from outside Delhi HC. The seniority also determines the composition of various committees, including that of the administrative and general supervision committee.
It is likely that the revised administrative committee of eight judges may see five of them hailing from outside of Delhi HC.
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