New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium
is understood to have discussed the appointment of Justice
Nisar Ahmad Kakru, a native of Jammu and Kashmir as the Chief
Justice of the High Court there, departing from its practice
of bringing outsiders.
However, a decision in this regard is believed to have
been not formalised because the Collegium, headed by Chief
Justice S H Kapadia, is yet to decide on the transfer and
appointment of Chief Justices of some other High Courts,
highly-placed sources said.
The proposal for appointment of Kakru, a Kashmiri as
Chief Justice in his home state shifting him from Andhra
Pradesh HC, is being seen as part of a package for the state
that is witnessing renewed violence, of late.
The sources said for effecting the transfer of
Justice Kakru as the Chief Justice of the J and K High Court,
the collegium has to appoint a new Chief Justice for the
Andhra Pradesh High Court.
The collegium was of the view that Chief Justice of
the Gauhati High Court Madan B Lokur could be shifted to the
Andhra Pradesh High Court to accommodate Chief Justice of J&K
High Court Aftab Hussain Saikia, a native of Assam, in his
place.
However, Justice B A Khan, a native of Jammu and
Kashmir, was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the
state High Court. Later, he was appointed as the Chief Justice
of the J&K High Court between January 21 to March 31, 2007.
Justice Kakru was made Chief Justice of the Andhra
Pradesh High Court in February.
The collegium is also believed to have considered
transfer of other High Court judges.
Justice Ranjan Gogoi of the Gauhati High Court may be
shifted as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Justice Arun Kumar Misra of the Madhya Pradesh High Court may
be shifted to the Rajasthan High Court to succeed Chief
Justice Jagdish Bhalla, who is due to retire on October 31.
Senior-most judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court
Justice T. Meenakumari could be considered for Patna High
court. Justice DSR Varma of the Andhra Pradesh High Court
may also be shifted.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 21:53