Trend of transfer pleas 'disconcerting': Punjab and Haryana High Court

Flagging a “disconcerting emerging trend” of litigants seeking transfer of cases by levelling allegations against judges and rival counsel, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has said that the power to transfer proceedings cannot be allowed to degenerate into a tool for forum-shopping or intimidation of the trial judiciary.

Dismissing a plea seeking the transfer of a complaint case within Panchkula district, Justice Sumeet Goel warned that judicial independence would be undermined if unfavourable orders were projected as proof of bias.

“While the right to an impartial trial is sacrosanct, it is equally imperative to recognise a disconcerting emerging trend, where the machinery of transfer is frequently weaponised to undermine the judicial independence,” the Bench said.

It held that the power of transfer was a judicial discretion, to be exercised sparingly and only in exceptional circumstances where justice would otherwise be compromised. A transfer plea, it said, cannot be founded on mere dissatisfaction, subjective fears or apprehensions, but must rest on reasonable grounds.

The court said judicial error was not synonymous with judicial bias, and an adverse order—even if later set aside by a superior court—does not furnish a basis for seeking transfer.

It made it clear that a presiding officer is duty-bound to decide cases fearlessly and is not required to step aside merely because allegations are levelled by disgruntled litigants.

“Judicial Officers often function and discharge their duties in environment which is overloaded with various stakeholders,” it said, acknowledging that errors may occur due to “tremendous strain”, but rejecting the notion that every adverse order signals prejudice.