Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of two judges of the Orissa High Court. The decision was taken during the Collegium’s meeting held on August 6, according to an official statement issued by the apex court.
The Collegium has recommended the transfer of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak to the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad, and Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra to the Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur.
Justice Pathak, whose parent High Court is the Gauhati High Court, has been serving as a judge at the Orissa High Court in Cuttack since July 21, 2025. He was initially appointed as an Additional Judge of the Gauhati High Court on May 22, 2013, and was later made a permanent judge on November 12, 2018, before his transfer to Odisha.
Justice Mohapatra was elevated to the bench as a Judge of the Orissa High Court on April 17, 2015. He comes from a distinguished legal background and is the son of the Late Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, a former judge of the Orissa High Court.
The recommended transfers come at a time when the Orissa High Court is grappling with judicial vacancies. Against a sanctioned strength of 33 judges, comprising 24 permanent judges and nine additional judges, the High Court has been functioning below its full strength, with several posts currently lying vacant.
The recommendations will now be forwarded to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice for processing and final executive approval by the President of India.