17/11/2021 - Judiciary

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KEY POINTS

·        Article 222 of the Constitution deals with the transfer of judges and states that the President may, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI), transfer a judge from one high court to another.

·        This Article has been subject to extensive judicial review and interpretation and recalling the historical context may be helpful to understand its present-day usage and contours.

·        While concurring with the majority, Justice P N Bhagwati held that the transfer of a judge from one court to another inflicts many injuries on the individual.

·        In 1994, between the Second and Third Judges’ cases, the K Ashok Reddy case was filed in the Supreme Court dealing specifically with the question of transfer of judges of high courts.

·        Seeking inputs from a plurality of judges in the formation of the opinion of the CJI is itself an in-built check against the likelihood of arbitrariness or bias.

·        The objective here is not to question the collective wisdom of the Collegium. But when the judiciary misses no opportunity to uphold the basic structure doctrine and preserve at all cost its independence, there is a need for transparency in judicial functioning to dispel all notions of favouritism.

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