Supreme Court collegium recommends transfer of 23 judges of high courts

New Delhi, August 11

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended transfer of 23 judges of different high courts, including Gujarat High Court judge Justice Hemant M Prachchhak, who had dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark.

The collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, in its meeting held on August 3 recommended transfer of nine judges of the high courts for “better administration of justice”.

According to a collegium resolution uploaded on the apex court website, out of these nine names, four judges are from the Gujarat High Court while four are from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The other judge is from the Allahabad High Court.

The collegium has recommended transfer of Justice Prachchhak from the Gujarat High Court to the Patna High Court, the resolution said.

On July 7, the Gujarat High Court had dismissed Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark.

While dismissing the plea, Justice Prachchhak had noted that Gandhi was already facing 10 criminal cases across India, adding that the order of the lower court was “just, proper and legal” in handing over a two-year jail term to Gandhi for his remarks.

Later on August 4, the Supreme Court had stayed Gandhi’s conviction in the case, paving the way for revival of his Lok Sabha membership.

According to the collegium resolution, other three judges of the Gujarat High Court –- Justices Alpesh Y Kogje, Kumari Gita Gopi and Samir J Dave — have been recommended to be transferred to the high courts of Allahabad, Madras and Rajasthan, respectively.

According to the August 3 resolution, Punjab and Haryana High Court judges — Justices Arvind Singh Sangwan, Avneesh Jhingan, Raj Mohan Singh and Arun Monga – have been recommended to be transferred to the high courts of Allahabad, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, respectively.

The collegium has also recommended transfer of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Vivek Kumar Singh to the Madras High Court.