No hesitation in disclosing reasons for transfer of judges: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it has no hesitation in disclosing reasons for transfer of judges if found necessary. 

"Though it would not be in interest of the institution to disclose the reasons for transfer, if found necessary, the Collegium will have no hesitation in disclosing the same," Supreme Court Secretary-General Sanjeev S Kalgaonkar said.

The remarks from Kalgaonkar came in the wake of a controversy over the recent collegium decision of transferring the Madras High Court Chief Justice V K Tahilramani to Meghalaya High Court.

The collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, had recommended Tahilramani's transfer to the Meghalaya High Court on August 28.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, Justice AK Mittal, had already been transferred to the Madras High Court.

Justice Tahilramani was one of the senior-most high court judges in the country. Before she began her tenure as the Madras High Court chief justice in August 2018, she had served as the acting chief justice of the Bombay High Court.

Justice Tahilramani’s transfer had raised objections as she moves from one of the oldest and largest high courts in the country to one of the newest.

The Madras HC functions at a sanctioned strength of 75 judges and currently has over 4 lakh pending cases. On the other hand, the Meghalaya HC was set up in 2013 and has a sanctioned strength of three judges.

The Madras HC functions at a sanctioned strength of 75 judges and currently has over 4 lakh pending cases. On the other hand, the Meghalaya HC was set up in 2013 and has a sanctioned strength of three judges.