SC asks Centre to refrain selective transfers and appointment of HC judges

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday questioned “pick and choose” method adopted by the Centre in clearing the Collegium’s recommendations for transferring high court judges.

A bench of Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said in the Gauhati High Court, the name of one of the senior candidates was not cleared at the first instance and the issue was taken up on a very serious note as swearing in was delayed.

Taking up a matter related to delay in appointment of judges, the court told the Attorney General R Venkataramani that as per court’s information, 11 names of judges recommended by the Collegium for transfer, five have been transferred but six are still pending — four from the Gujarat High Court and one each from the high courts of Allahabad and Delhi.

The AG urged the bench to defer the matter by one week.

The bench said this does not send a good signal and asked the government to refrain from selective transfers, which creates its own dynamics.

"What signal do you send when out of the transfers recommended, four judges from Gujarat are not transferred at all,” the bench asked.

The bench said that of the recently-recommended names for judgeship in high courts, eight have not been cleared and some of these judges are senior to those who have been appointed.

The bench observed that the government is following a “pick and choose” policy regarding the names recommended by the Collegium for transfers.

"Problem arises when selective appointment takes place as people lose their seniority," the bench said.

The bench also noted the fact that the swearing-in of a recently appointed Gauhati High Court judge was delayed because the Centre had declined to clear the name of another senior candidate who was recommended by the Collegium for judgeship.

"In Gauhati, one of the senior candidates' names was not cleared in the first instance. This was taken up on a serious note and the oath to the other was delayed to facilitate the government to issue a warrant of appointment of the said person,” the bench said.

This is something on which it had commented earlier that if a candidate does not know what seniority he would stand as a judge, it becomes difficult to persuade other eligible and deserving candidates, the bench pointed out.

The court also referred to some older recommendations made by the Collegium, including names, reiterated once or twice.

Venkataramani said as far as the reiterated names are concerned, there has been progress.

He asked the court to take up the matter after a week or 10 days.

The apex court also questioned the Centre over the non-appointment of two Sikh lawyers as the judges of a high court.

“Two of the candidates not cleared are both Sikhs. Why should this arise? Don't let past issues link up with present pending ones,” the bench told the AG.

The court fixed the matter for hearing on December 5.