HC advocates’ to meet CJI today opposing transfer of Justice Abhishek Reddy

HYDERABAD: A delegation of  Telangana High Court Advocates Association (THCAA) members will meet Chief Justice of India Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on Saturday in Delhi and appeal to him to recall the SC Collegium recommendation for transfer of Justice Abhishek Reddy to the Patna High Court.

As the office of the CJI has given the appointment, the delegation, headed by association president V. Raghunath, finalised its plan to convey the protest on the issue of Justice Reddy’s transfer.

The THCAA on Friday decided to abstain from court work on Saturday as well, and continue its protest at the High Court premises, demanding that the transfer proposal be revoked.

On Friday, most of the advocates did not come to the High Court. Those who turned up held a protest, then went to the court halls and asked the judges not to pass any adverse orders as they were away from court work for a good cause. The judges adjourned the cases.

Recalling the earlier sudden transfers of senior judges of Telangana High Court Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Amarnath Goud as junior judges in other High Courts, speakers in the association meeting said they were clueless about the transfers  though the association was a major stakeholder in the administration of justice.

They said that such unilateral decisions by a collegium were veiled in secrecy and not subject to any scrutiny indicate a single source of unaccountable power.

The THCAA said that the Supreme Court is not an administrative or judicial supervisory court of the High Court. The self-assumed power and more importantly selective views from time to time raise serious issues of judicial independence and credibility of the justice administration system, the association members said.

THCAA members demanded that this transfer must immediately be kept in abeyance until the larger questions on the need to transfer, the power to transfer, the policy of transfer and the guidelines for transfer are discussed, debated and finalised.