CHENNAI: After two senior judges of the Madras High Court sought transfers out of the State, a group of prominent advocates from the Madras Bar met the two judges together with the Chief Justice and requested them to reconsider their decision.
The two judges - Justice R Sudhakar and V Ramasubramanian - had reportedly sought transfers recently and a representation was submitted to the Chief Justice of India and of the Madras High Court not to grant their request.
Terming the grounds of their decision as unfortunate, the representation sent by senior lawyers stated, “We are aware that the two judges were criticised, perhaps unjustifiably for recently taking action against certain members of the Bar.”
The advocates called the criticism of the judges a publicity-seeking act. “Some fringe elements, who have no stake in the Bar, in a bid to gain publicity, played the caste card and engaged in unsavoury mudslinging,” the representation read.
According to the advocates, this does not reflect the sentiments of the substantial majority of the Bar which acknowledges the excellent work done by the two judges. Citing the phase of crisis under way in the Madras High Court wherein the present number of judges is much below 50 per cent of the sanctioned strength, the advocates said the transfer of two senior judges would lead to a void and be disastrous to the institution. “The proposed transfer, if effected, would certainly send out a wrong signal to the general public and cause further damage to the High Court’s reputation.”
Justice R Sudhakar and Justice V Ramasubramanian have rendered yeomen service to this High Court for over a decade and their judgments bear testimony to this, according to the representation. “They have rendered landmark judgments touching several branches of law. They justly occupy a pride of place among judges of the Madras High Court,” it said.
A group of about 50 practising advocates, led by senior advocate R.Krishnamoorthy, have signed the representation, which has also been sent to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Law and Justice.