January 28, 2019;

After the sudden & unexplained reversal of the SC Collegium’s decisions on judicial appointments set off  legal fraternity on rage, there was a move in the Collegium to transfer high-profile Justice S Muralidhar out of Delhi High Court, says sources.

That move has been stalled, as of now, after members of the Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi reportedly advised against it.

One of them, Justice M B Lokur, retired recently, and the other, Justice A K Sikri, is due to retire in March. The proposal could be revived later.

The move to transfer Justice Muralidhar was discussed twice in the Collegium for postings and transfers in High Courts, in Dec and in Jan, as per sources.

Known for his bold pronouncements on communal violence and personal liberty, Justice Muralidhar, especially in 2018, authored many judgments which have been widely discussed.

These include the one concerning imprisonment of intellectuals and activists, including Gautam Navlakha, for alleged Maoist links. He delivered the Hashimpura verdict convicting members of UP PAC in the 1986 mass killings.

It was a two-judge bench led by him that convicted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the Sikh riots, in Dec 2018. The judgment overturned the acquittals and passed stringent comments on tardy prosecution.

When the first bid to transfer Justice Muralidhar was made in Dec, a judge in the Collegium from the Delhi HC is said to have persuaded the CJI to not insist on it. In the second instance, a bid was made again, when the Collegium changed, after the retirement of Justice Lokur.

Late last year, Justice Muralidhar was attacked by RSS ideologue, chartered accountant and now independent Director of RBI, S Gurumurthy. Contempt proceedings were initiated against Gurumurthy by the Delhi High Court and there was an in-chamber hearing on Dec 11. The first move to transfer Justice Muralidhar came shortly after that.

Earlier this month, the SC Collegium resolution overturned decisions taken by it in Dec — of elevating two High Court Chief Justices to the Apex Court.

This change in resolution stopped the elevation of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, and Justice Rajendra Menon, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, who had been recommended for the Supreme Court by the Collegium on Dec 12.

The Supreme Court, which has a new Collegium that held its first meeting on Jan 10, decided instead to elevate Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, and Justice Sanjeev Khanna, a judge of Delhi High Court.

Source Link

 

Picture Source :