Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Transfer Of Manipur High Court Acting Chief Justice To Calcutta HC
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the transfer Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court MV Muralidaran to the Calcutta High Court. The original recommendation was made earlier this week.In a resolution signed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, the collegium has said that this decision has been made for...
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the transfer Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court MV Muralidaran to the Calcutta High Court. The original recommendation was made earlier this week.
In a resolution signed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, the collegium has said that this decision has been made for "better administration of justice" after consulting with the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court as well as Supreme Court judge conversant with the affairs of the Manipur High Court.
The resolution also reveals that Justice Muralidaran's transfer has been recommended despite the judge's request to either transfer him to his parent high court, i.e., the Madras High Court, or allow him to continue functioning at the Manipur High Court. It states -
"Mr Justice M V Muralidaran, by a communication dated 10 October 2023, requested to transfer him to his parent High Court and if that is not feasible, to permit him to continue to function in the High Court of Manipur, instead of transferring him to the High Court at Calcutta. We have considered the requests made by Mr Justice M V Muralidaran in his above communication. The Collegium does not find merit in the requests made by him. The Collegium, therefore, resolves to reiterate its recommendation dated 9 October 2023 to transfer Mr Justice M V Muralidaran to the High Court at Calcutta."
Notably, Justice Muralidharan passed a controversial order asking the Manipur government to consider conferring on the majority Meitei community, scheduled tribe status. This suggestion is said to have sparked the ongoing violent ethnic clashes between the tribal and non-tribal communities in the northeastern state. In May, the Supreme Court criticised the direction but ultimately refused to stay Justice Muralidaran's order in view of the pendency of an appeal before a division bench of the high court.
In related news, after the Supreme Court expressed concerns over the central government's delay in notifying Delhi High Court judge Siddharth Mridul's elevation as the chief justice of the Manipur High Court, the Centre on Monday assured the court that his file has been 'cleared' and the notification will be issued shortly.