The Supreme Court collegium has recommended transfer of the two senior-most judges of the Punjab and Haryana high court, justice Jaswant Singh and justice Rajan Gupta. It has also recommended transfer of three more judges to the Punjab and Haryana high court.
While Justice Jaswant Singh’s name has been recommended for the Orissa high court, justice Rajan Gupta’s name has been recommended for the Patna high court. The recommendation regarding Justice Gupta, initially made on September 16, was reiterated by the collegium on Tuesday.
Both are senior-most judges of the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) after the chief justice and are collegium members. Justice Rajan Gupta was also presiding over a bench hearing drug trade-related matters in Punjab.
Meanwhile, justice Sureshwar Thakur and justice Anoop Chitkara of the Himachal Pradesh HC and justice MSS Ramachandra Rao of the Telangana HC are to be transferred to the Punjab and Haryana HC, according to the recommendations.
The final decision on the recommendations will be taken by the central government. If these recommendations are accepted, the number of judges in the Punjab and Haryana HC will stand at 46, including the chief justice.