Apex Court orders will transfer Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyers after appointment as Judges

Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyers Jaishree Thakur and B.S. Walia will most probably be transferred to the Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir High Court respectively after being appointed as High Court Judges.

The transfer reportedly follows the Collegium directive while clearing the lawyer’s names for elevation to the Bench. Such a decision has come after nearly two decades.

The collegium rejected 2 names out of the 15 names recommended by Punjab and Haryana High Court collegium for elevation to the High Court Bench. They are senior lawyer Sunil Chadha and a district and sessions judge from Haryana, Manjit Singh.

The list includes senior lawyer Deepak Sibal, cousin of former Union law minister Kapil Sibal. The elevation of Raminder Jain, a senior Sessions Judge in Haryana, has been “deferred for further consideration”.

Earlier, Katju’s had revealed the anecdote behind the transfer of present Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Kannan. Justice Katju had questioned, “when a Tamilian lawyer is appointed Judge of Madras High Court why have signalled him out and sent him to Punjab high court? Is it not another instance of succumbing to political pressure because again UPA Government was in power? This Tamil Nadu party (DMK) who was in alliance with Congress put pressure on Chief Justice of India and he again succumbed to pressure and said all right we would appoint him but we would send him to Punjab High Court. Again an improper compromise.”
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