On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of India announced that it had modified its earlier recommendation regarding the transfer of Justice Atul Sreedharan, following a request from the Union government.

Earlier in August, the Supreme Court collegium had proposed transferring Justice Sreedharan, one of the senior-most judges of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, to the Chhattisgarh High Court. However, within a month, the Modi government sought a reconsideration of that decision. Complying with the request, the collegium revised its recommendation, transferring Justice Sreedharan to the Allahabad High Court instead.

While no explanation has been provided by either the collegium or the government for this abrupt change, this now means that Sreedharan will be a junior judge and will not be part of the collegium that selects new judges.

This incident underscores the opacity and possible executive interference that continue to cloud the system of judicial transfers and appointments in India.

Justice Sreedharan has earned a reputation as a judge who sticks to the rules. Appointed as a permanent judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2018, in 2023 he requested a transfer to the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, citing a conflict of interest as his daughter practised law in Madhya Pradesh.

However, in March, just a...

Read more