SC Collegium Recalls Recommendation To Tranfer Orissa HC Chief Justice Muralidhar To Madras HC

Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud made its displeasure public while  recalling its recommendation to transfer the Chief Justice of the Orissa high court S Muralidhar to the Madras high court.

The resolution, which included appointment of chief justices of five high courts, was uploaded on April 19.

“The Collegium resolved on September 28, 2022 to transfer Dr Justice S Muralidhar, Chief Justice of the High Court of Odisha to the Madras High Court. The recommendation has remained pending with the Government of India since then without any response. Dr Justice Muralidhar now demits office on August 7, 2023, leaving less than four months’ time,” the resolution noted.

“In view of this delay, the resolution recommending the transfer of Dr Justice S Muralidhar was recalled to facilitate the appointment of Justice SV Gangapurwala as permanent Chief Justice of the Madras High Court,” it added.

In October last year, the Centre had cleared the other recommendations but chose to stall the transfer of Justice S Muralidhar to the Madras High Court as its Chief Justice. The Madras High Court remained without a permanent Chief Justice for more than six months because of this delay.

With the Collegium noting that only four months are left for the retirement of Chief Justice Muralidhar from the Orissa high court, it is doubtful whether it would make a fresh recommendation to elevate him to the Supreme Court, which will see eight vacancies this year, The Wire reported.