Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: In a move first of its kind, the Chief Justice of India has written to over 20 High Court judges across the country telling them they are being transferred in public interest.
A newspaper report that appeared on Saturday states that the proposed transfers are being done in “public interest”.
The move was initiated by the Supreme Court Collegium, which is a panel of five senior-most judges headed by the CJI himself.
The transfers would be the biggest in 17 years involving HC judges. In 1993, 50 judges were transferred in one go during the tenure of the then CJI MN Venkatachaliah. Those transfers were made post filing of complaints against the judges.
In the letters written by CJI SH Kapadia, the judges have been asked to spell out their preferred destination. The ones received by chief justices seek to know if they have any objections to the pending transfers.
While the CJI’s office has refused to specify the reasons behind the proposed transfers, using just the expression "public interest", the move is being seen as a step aimed at checking deviant behaviour among judges and improving the image of the judiciary in the wake of recent allegations of corruption and misconduct against some judges, the newspaper reported.
The report said the proposed transfers includes three judges each from High Courts of Allahabad, Punjab & Haryana and Rajasthan, two each from Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and names of some judges from Orissa and Assam HCs.
First Published: Saturday, September 11, 2010, 15:28