A five judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday reiterated its recommendation to transfer Delhi High Court judge Rajnish Bhatnagar to the Rajasthan High Court. On August 10, a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant suggested the transfer of Justice Bhatnagar to the Rajasthan High Court for better administration of justice.
Justice Bhatnagar approached the apex court collegium on Wednesday seeking his stay in Delhi. The collegium said it had consulted Supreme Court judges who are familiar with Delhi High Court matters and are in a position to offer views on the proposed transfer regarding the procedure memorandum.
The collegium members said they also consulted the chief justices of the Delhi and Rajasthan high courts. “We have considered the application filed by Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar on his behalf. The collegium finds no merit in his request,” the collegium said in its resolution published on the Supreme Court’s website.
“The collegium therefore decided to reiterate its recommendation dated 10 August 2023 to transfer Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar to the Rajasthan High Court. The representation Patna High Court Judge Justice Sudhir Singh on his transfer to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
On August 3, the collegium suggested transfer of Justice Singh to the Punjab and Haryana High Court for better administration of justice.
Subsequently, on August 8, Justice Singh appeared before a bench of the apex court and asked that the facts he had mentioned in his letter be considered before taking a final decision on his transfer. Justice Singh told the apex court bench that any decision on the transfer matter would be binding on him.
The collegium, after taking note of his submission in the said representation, decided to postpone the proposal for his transfer for the time being. Regarding the memorandum of proceedings, we have consulted Supreme Court judges who are familiar with Patna High Court affairs and are able to offer their views on the proposed transfer. It said the collegium decided to reiterate its recommendation dated August 3, 2023 to transfer him to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
