NEW DELHI: Four high court chief justices, including Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, were transferred on Thursday, the Law Ministry said.
Four judges were also elevated as high court chief justices.
The Supreme Court collegium had recently recommended to the government the transfer of four chief justices of high courts and elevation of some judges as chief justices of high courts.
A couple of transfers and elevations may take place in January, sources said.
Justice Maheshwari has been transferred to the Sikkim High Court as its new chief justice in place of Justice Arup Kumar Goswami.
Justice Goswami will be the new chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, according to a Law Ministry notification.
The SC collegium had recommended transfer of Justice Maheshwari to the Sikkim High Court, weeks after Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had complained to the Chief Justice of India about the state”s top judiciary.
In an unprecedented move, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister had on October 6 written to CJI S A Bobde alleging that the state high court was being used to “destabilise and topple” his democratically elected government.
Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan, the Telangana High Court chief justice, has been transferred as the chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court.
Justice Mohammad Rafiq, the chief justice of the Orissa High Court, will be the new chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Justice S Muralidhar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been elevated as the chief justice of the Orissa High Court.
Justice Muralidhar”s previous transfer from the Delhi High Court close to midnight of February 26 had created a controversy as the notification was issued on the day a bench headed by him had pulled up the Delhi Police for failing to register FIRs against three BJP leaders for their alleged hate speeches which purportedly led to violence in northeast Delhi.
The collegium had recommended the transfer of Justice Muralidhar to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 12.
The government had asserted that the transfer was a routine affair based on the recommendation of the collegium.
The Delhi High Court”s Justice Hima Kohli has been elevated as the chief justice of the Telangana High Court. Justice Pankaj Mithal of the Allahabad High Court has been made the chief justice of the common high court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Union Territories.
Justice Sanjib Banerjee, a judge of the Calcutta High Court, has been appointed as the new chief justice of the Madras High Court.
The Law Ministry also notified the transfer of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma from the Madhya Pradesh High Court to the Karnataka High Court.
Another notification said Justice Joymalya Bagchi, a judge of the Calcutta High Court, has been transferred as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Justice Rajesh Bindal, a judge of the Jammu and Kashmir HC, has been posted to the Calcutta High Court, while Justice Sanjay Yadav, a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, has bern transferred to the Allahabad High Court.
Justice Vineet Kothari of the Madras High Court has been sent to the Gujarat High Court, while Justice Ravi R Malimath has been sent to the Himachal Pradesh High Court from the Uttarakhand HC. (AGENCY)
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