HIGH
COURT JUDGE TRANSFER - POLITY
News: Supreme Court Collegium lists seven High Court judges for transfer
What's
in the news?
●
The Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief
Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud published its resolution recommending the
transfer of seven High Court judges. The name of Gujarat High Court judge,
Justice Nikhil S. Kariel, is not among them.
●
Madras High Court Acting Chief Justice T.
Raja and Telangana High Court judge, Justice A. Abhishek Reddy, however,
figures in the list.
● The Collegium resolution shows the decision to propose the transfer of the seven judges was taken at its meeting on November 24.
Transfer
of HC judges:
●
Article
222
of the Constitution provides for the transfer of High Court judges, including
the Chief Justice.
●
It says the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, may
transfer a judge from one High Court to any other High Court.
●
It also provides for a compensatory allowance to the transferred judge.
●
This means that the executive could
transfer a judge, but only after consulting the Chief Justice of India.
● From time to time, there have been proposals that one-third of the composition of every High Court should have judges from other States.
Collegium
for HC Judges transfer:
●
In the collegium era, the proposal for
transferring a High Court judge, including a Chief Justice, should be initiated
by the Chief Justice of India, “whose opinion in this regard is determinative”.
●
For transferring a judge other than the
Chief Justice, the CJI should take the views of the CJ of the court concerned,
as well as the CJ of the court to which the transfer is taking place.
●
The CJI should also take into account the
views of one or more Supreme Court judges who are in a position to offer their
views.
●
In the case of transfer of a Chief
Justice, only the views of one or more knowledgeable Supreme Court judges need
to be taken into account.
●
In
case of selection and transfer of HC Judges, the collegium consists of CJI, 2
senior most judges of the SC and CJ of the concerned High Courts.
●
All transfers are to be made in public
interest, i.e. for promoting better administration of justice throughout the
country.
● The consent of the judge is not required.
Provision
for Written Recommendation:
●
The views should all be expressed in
writing, and they should be considered by the CJI and four senior-most judges
of the Supreme Court, which means, the full Collegium of five.
●
The recommendation is sent to the Union Law
Minister who should submit the relevant papers to the Prime Minister.
● The PM then advises the President on approving the transfer.
Go
back to basics:
●
The Supreme
Court Collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four
other senior-most judges of the court.
●
A High
Court collegium is led by the incumbent Chief Justice and two other senior
most judges of that court.
●
Names recommended for appointment by a
High Court collegium reaches the government only after approval by the CJI and
the Supreme Court Collegium.
●
Judges of the higher judiciary are
appointed only through the Collegium system, and the government has a role only
after names have been decided by the collegium.