The acting chief justice of Manipur on Wednesday found himself among the 16 high court judges who received transfer orders in a major reshuffling within the judicial hierarchy. The transfer of Justice M V Murlidharan, who served as the acting chief justice of the Manipur High Court, occurred just two days after the appointment of Delhi High Court judge Siddharth Mridul as the chief justice of Manipur's High Court, reported news agency PTI.
The Supreme Court Collegium, in recent recommendations, proposed the transfer of Justice Muralidaran from the Manipur High Court to the Calcutta High Court, citing the need for "better administration of justice."
Justice Muralidaran's earlier directive in March, advocating the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, led to unrest in Manipur.
Despite Justice Muralidaran's request, dated October 10, to be transferred to his parent high court of Madras, or alternatively, to continue serving in the Manipur High Court, the collegium reaffirmed its decision to transfer him to the Calcutta High Court, as stated in an October 11 resolution.
According to a post by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on X, Justice S P Kesarwani has been transferred from the Allahabad High Court to the Calcutta High Court.
Other notable transfers included Justice Raj Mohan Singh from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and Justice Narendar G, who has been posted to the Andhra Pradesh High Court from the Karnataka High Court.
Justice Sudhir Singh of the Patna High Court has been reassigned to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Justice Madhuresh Prasad of the Patna High Court is now posted to the Calcutta High Court. Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan has been transferred to the Allahabad High Court from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Further changes include Justice Avneesh Jhingan moving from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Rajasthan High Court, and Justice Rajendra Kumar-IV being transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court from the Allahabad High Court.
Justice Nani Tagia of the Gauhati High Court has been posted to the Patna High Court, while Justice C Manavendranath of the Andra Pradesh High Court has been reassigned to the Gujarat High Court. Justice Munnuri Laxman is now posted to the Rajasthan High Court from the Telangana High Court, and Justice G Anupama Chakvavarthy of the Telangana High Court has been sent to the Patna High Court, PTI reported.
In addition, Additional Judge Lapita Banerji has been reassigned to the Punjab and Haryana High Court from the Calcutta High Court. Another additional judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Duppala Venkata Ramana, has been transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the PTI report stated.
This significant judicial reshuffling comes in the wake of concerns expressed by a Supreme Court bench regarding delays in the appointment and transfer of high court judges.