Supreme Court Collegium Partially Accommodates Transfer Request Of Justice Arvind Singh Chandel

Earlier on March 15, the collegium had suggested transferring Justice Chandel to the Madras High Court for enhancing the administration of justice.

As per the Memorandum of Procedure, Justice Chandel was asked to respond to the recommendation. In a communication dated March 17, he requested reconsideration of his transfer proposal or suggested considering transfers to any of five other high courts: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Allahabad, Punjab and Haryana, or Delhi.

The Collegium added, “In terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, we consulted one of the Judges of the Supreme Court who being conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Chhattisgarh is in a position to offer views on the proposed transfer. The Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Patna whose opinion was sought in terms of the Memorandum of Procedure also conveyed his consent to the proposed transfer of Mr Justice Arvind Singh Chandel.”

After carefully reviewing his request, the collegium concluded that his request for reconsideration or transfer to the aforementioned five high courts cannot be accepted outright. However, acknowledging his concerns, the collegium decided to partially accommodate his request and recommended transferring Justice Chandel to the Patna High Court, deviating from the initial proposal to transfer him to the Madras High Court on March 15, 2024.

The notification dated March 20, 2024 read, “We are of the view that the request of Mr Justice Arvind Singh Chandel to reconsider the proposal for transfer or to transfer him to any of the above five High Courts cannot be accepted. Appreciating 2 his difficulty, the Collegium partially accedes to his request and resolves to recommend that Mr Justice Arvind Singh Chandel be transferred to the High Court of Judicature at Patna, instead of the Madras High Court as proposed by the Collegium on 15 March 2024.”

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