NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the transfer of three high court judges, including the third in seniority in the Delhi High Court, Justice S Muralidhar. But the proposed transfer of Justice Muralidhar to the Punjab and Haryana High Court drew strong reactions from the Delhi High Court Bar Association, which expressed shock and decided to abstain from work on Thursday. “Such transfers are not only detrimental to our noble institution, but also tend to erode and dislodge the faith of the common litigant in the justice dispensation system,” a resolution adopted by the Bar body read.
Justice Muralidhar is set to retire in 2023 and is known for his bold decisions. He is also among the few judges who have done away with the convention of being addressed as ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordship’. According to sources, his transfer was discussed within the collegium twice earlier but not ordered as several top court judges spoke against it. The collegium also recommended the transfers of Justice Ranjit More of the Bombay High Court to the Meghalaya High Court and Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath of the Karnataka High Court to the Uttarakhand High Court.
Strike today
“The Delhi HC Bar Associ-ation also resolves to request its members to abstain from work on February 20, 2020, as a token of protest as the said transfer is a rarest of rare case,” a resolution adopted by the assoc-iation said.