‘Strike’ judge as CJ: Collegium says no

Incidentally, Justice Hegde will retire during the ongoing vacation and his place in the collegium will be taken by Justice K G Balakrishnan.

Justice Singhvi has already been transferred at the instance of the collegium from Chandigarh to Ahmedabad after he led the first-ever strike by High Court judges on April 19, 2004. He is fourth in seniority among High Court judges in the country.

The majority in the collegium are against the idea of elevating Justice Singhvi lest it undermine the message of judicial accountability sent out by his transfer.

The opposition to Singhvi is also because of a letter sent by President A P J Abdul Kalam in April 2004 to the then CJI, Justice V N Khare, expressing his ‘‘anguish and displeasure’’ at the strike.

Since the Supreme Court broke up for the summer vacation on May 14, the vacancy in Hyderabad cannot be filled up until July 11, when the apex court reopens.