SC Collegium Recommends Transfer Of Justice Rakesh Kumar From Patna HC To Andhra Pradesh HC

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the transfer of Justice Rakesh Kumar, the second senior judge of Patna High Court, to Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Justice Kumar had courted controversy last August with his scathing observations about corruption and impropriety in judiciary. Notably, the SC collegium has not stated the reason for recommending his transfer.

While ordering CBI probe into  bribery allegations in Patna Civil Court on August 28, Justice Kumar had remarked that judges in High Court had tried a blind eye to corruption allegations against judicial officers.

He said "corruption in this High Court is open secret" and that judges were more interested in 'enjoying privileges' than administering justice.

Following this, the Chief Justice of Patna High Court issued a notification withdrawing all judicial work from Justice Kumar. 

Later, a 11-judges bench of the High Court convened to stay the order passed by Justice Kumar, after criticizing him for "judicial and administrative overreach".

The bench condemned Justice Kumar's order, stating that it seemed to be motivated by a personal agenda.

"Such uncharity unleashed appears to be definitely an outcome of some personal prejudice that may have its genesis in a personal background as the utterances and overtures, as recorded and reported already in the print and social media, are full of anguish tending towards vengeance and not real reform. A sudden leap in the sky through an approach of gaining yellow page fame appears to be one of the motives behind the pronouncement", the Full Bench remarked.

Justice Rakesh Kumar was elevated to bench in 2009 after 26 years of law practice. His term as HC judge is till December 31, 2020.

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