The Supreme Court collegium’s proposal to transfer Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee to Meghalaya has sparked a debate, with supporters and opponents on both sides. The collegium had previously suggested that Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee be transferred to the Meghalaya High Court. In a meeting on September 16, the collegium, led by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, recommended that Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari of the Allahabad High Court be transferred to the Madras High Court.
The Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA), the biggest with over 20,000 members, and the Madras Bar Association, an elite body of attorneys, have joined the chorus and submitted motions denouncing the proposed CJ change. Over 30 top High Court lawyers have now joined the protests against the move. Over 200 lawyers wrote to the CJI and the collegium last week, criticising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee’s transfer to the Meghalaya High Court and requesting that the decision be reconsidered.
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While this was true, there were also some who supported the transfer. Former president of the MHAA and head of the BJP Legal Wing, Advocate R C Paul Kanakaraj, claimed the matter was being politicised. He questioned the rationale of contesting the transfer without first learning the grounds for doing so. He stated that there may be some compelling grounds for the transition. When there were thousands of attorneys, the resolutions could not be considered as those passed by a majority of the advocates. He said that the transfers might be made with good intentions, paving the road for seniority and eventual ascension to the Supreme Court.
At the MBA’s unusual emergency meeting on Sunday, counsel G Karthikeyan, who is also the Assistant Solicitor General of the Madras High Court, spoke out against the resolution opposing the transfer, questioning the rationale of protesting against the CJ alone. Many judges, including Chief Justices, have recently been transferred to other High Courts. He questioned why the resolution was only addressed to CJ Banerjee. T S Sivagnanam, another senior judge, was recently moved to the High Court of Kolkata.
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His case was also mentioned in the MBA resolution. G Mohanakrishnan, president of the MHAA, expressed his disappointment that the current Chief Justice was suggested for relocation from Chennai to Meghalaya. He was a senior Judge who had just been in office since January 2021. He said he has been successfully conducting judicial administration in Tamil Nadu and earnestly urged the CJI and Supreme Court Collegium judges to consider the opinions of the legal community and make a sound judgement in the best interests of all stakeholders. The MBA noted in its resolution that a Chief Justice of a big chartered High Court, such as the one in Chennai, should be appointed for at least two years to evaluate the current status of the institution and to take steps to improve it.
