NEW DELHI: Hours after the hearing in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday-Wednesday intervening night over the violence in Delhi, a controversy has emerged over the transfer of the judge who heard the case, Justice S Muralidhar, to Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The judge had severely reprimanded Delhi Police for its failure to act in time to control the situation and for not filing FIRs against political leaders who had made provocative speeches. The transfer notification by the Ministry of Law and Justice, which also came at midnight (Wednesday-Thursday), led many people including political parties to raise questions on the sudden haste move.
As per a collegium resolution dated February 12, which was made public on February 19, Justice Muralidhar was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana HC along with Justice Ranjit V More, who was transferred to Meghalaya HC from Bombay HC, and Justice Ravi V Malimath, who was transferred to Uttarakhand HC from Karnataka HC.
However, Justice Murlidhar’s transfer order mentions no date on which he is to assume office as the judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In absence of this, or any other details regarding the date of joining, it is assumed that the transfer comes into effect on an immediate basis, a departure from the norm.
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Either the judges are given a date on which they have to assume office or a reasonable time is allotted before they have to take charge by stating that the notification will come into effect from the date he assumes charge.
Interestingly, the Centre which acted so fast on clearing the transfer files of Justice Muralidhar and other judges did not take any action on the other collegium recommendations passed much prior to February 12 resolution. Criticising the sudden haste in transferring Justice Muralidhar, former Delhi HC judge Justice (retd) Kailash Gambhir said, “The language of the transfer order is not routine and shows as to what government wants judges to do.”
However, the government has maintained that the transfer was done with the judge’s consent and a well-settled process was followed.
President of the SC Bar Association Dushyant Dave also opined that the transfer of Justice Muralidhar was a punitive action against him by the government.
Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms has also condemned the transfer for “punishing an honest and courageous judicial officer for simply carrying out his constitutional duties”.