Centre notifies Delhi HC transfers in third reshuffle this year

The reshuffle also means the Delhi High Court has the highest number of judges from outside, with nine such appointments.

The Centre on Tuesday finally notified the transfer of two sitting judges from the Delhi High Court, and the addition of three new judges from other courts, recommended by the Supreme Court collegium nearly two months ago. The changes come just months after a sweeping reshuffle in July, and mark the third major reshuffle in the Delhi High Court this year.

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The reshuffle also means the Delhi High Court has the highest number of judges from outside, with nine such appointments.

On Tuesday, the Centre notified the transfer of Delhi HC judges Arun Monga and Tara Vitasta Ganju to the Rajasthan and Karnataka high courts, respectively, while justices Dinesh Mehta and Avneesh Jhingan from the Rajasthan HC and justice Chandrasekharan Sudha from the Kerala HC were transferred to Delhi.

These changes were recommended by the Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B. R. Gavai, in meetings held on August 25 and 26. In total, the collegium, also comprising justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari and B. V. Nagarathna, had recommended that the Centre transfer 14 high court judges across the country.

According to people familiar with the matter, the collegium’s decision to transfer Justices Monga—just 34 days after his transfer from Rajasthan to the Delhi HC—and Ganju stemmed from adverse reports related to their conduct.

This is the third major reshuffle at the court, with the first in March, when justice Yashwant Varma was transferred to the Allahabad High Court after a huge amount of cash was allegedly recovered from his residence. The second change followed in July, involving the transfer of six judges from various high courts to Delhi.

The influx of judges, from outside Delhi, would again shift the court’s seniority hierarchy and reshape its judicial composition. Justice Mehta — who was elevated as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in November 2016 — is now set to become the fourth most senior judge at the Delhi HC after the chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, in place of justice Pratibha M Singh.

According to data accessed by HT, of the 25 high courts in the country, the Delhi HC now has the highest number of judges from outside Delhi. The second highest number of judges from outside are in Karnataka, at eight, followed by Madras, Calcutta, and Patna with five each. The HCs of Punjab, Haryana, Allahabad, and Kerala have three, while Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa have two. Tripura, Orissa, Gujarat, and Bombay have just one judge from outside. Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Gauhati, Chhattisgarh, and Meghalaya HCs currently have no external judges.

Ahead of the notification, various advocates in Delhi High Court voiced concerns over the lack of transparency, inadequate justification for the transfers, and continued practice of overlooking lawyers for judicial appointments.

Senior advocates Kirti Uppal and Jatan Singh, expressed strong disapproval regarding the collegium’s decision to transfer judges from outside, while ignoring capable members from the Delhi bar. Senior advocate Kirti Uppal said that the repeated influx of judges from outside is prejudicial to both the Delhi High Court and its bar. “There seems to be a ‘grave prejudice’ with the Delhi High Court and the Bar. The transfer of judges from other high courts to the Delhi High Court, without any justification, is affecting the bar. The bar, due to the recent transfers, has again lost judges’ seats.”

Meanwhile, advocate Jatan Singh said, “I really feel sorry for the Delhi High Court that again, after receiving six judges earlier from different high courts, we will be receiving three more judges.If these transfers are being done to increase HC’s strength, then collegium must ask the chief justice to recommend lawyers’ names for elevation.”

Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa said justice Monga’s transfer was a “great loss to the criminal justice system”.

“He seems to be a clear victim of rumour mongering in the corridors of the court,” Pahwa added.

Advocate Saurabh Kirpal said that transferring judges, particularly those elevated from the Bar, without explanation, would discourage competent lawyers from accepting judicial appointments. “If lawyers are fearful that they will be shunted like class IV employees or lower government employees, then they will not accept judgeship because what you lose in pay, you earn in prestige. But if you are treated unfairly, and if that prestige is also undermined, there will be no incentive. If this is a form of punishment, the reasons must be disclosed. Simply moving someone from A to B is not a solution.”

Singh added, “So far as our two judges who have been recommended to be transferred, I found that they were appreciated for their work. The collegium’s policy of transfer is raising many questions as to how the judges who are performing well are being transferred to other states.”

Some lawyers also criticised the pattern of importing judges into the Delhi High Court, which they feel is slowly eroding its “distinct” legal culture and fabric, built over decades. Terming the decision as “wholesale transfers”, senior advocate Anil Soni said, “By ‘wholesale’ transfers, we are changing the very fabric of our HC culture.” Kirpal questioned, “If the bar is also now replaced by some other bar, then what will happen to that knowledge of conventions, etc?”

While, advocate Praveen Sharma said, “The collegium should be mindful of maintaining the equilibrium between the number of incoming and outgoing judges.” Senior advocate Geeta Luthra added, “It’s very unusual. It will change HC’s face.”However, defending the decision, senior advocate Vivek Sood said such decisions fall squarely within the collegium’s administrative discretion and are not subject to judicial review. “Such decisions ought to be accepted by one and all, whether they are liked or disliked.”

He added that secrecy around the transfers helps preserve the dignity and confidence of the judges involved, even though it may raise questions and fuel speculation. “Some of these transfers do raise questions and fuel rumours as to why these transfers are being proposed. Whether to keep the reasons confidential or not is a dilemma. Disclosure would bring transparency, whereas secrecy would protect the confidence of the judges under transfer,” he said.

The Centre on Tuesday also notified the transfer of justice Nisha Banu from Madras to Kerala HC, justice Subhendu Samanta from Calcutta to Andhra Pradesh HC, Sanjay Kumar Singh from Allahabad to Patna HC, justice Sandeep N. Bhatt from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh HC. It also notified the repatriation of justices Donadi Ramesh and Manavendranath Roy to the Andhra Pradesh HC.