Supreme Court Collegium Firm On Manipur High Court Judge Transfer After His Order Triggered Ethnic Violence

The Supreme Court Collegium on Wednesday (11 October) maintained its commitment to recommending the transfer of Manipur High Court judge, Justice MV Muralidharan, to the Calcutta High Court for the "better administration of justice," The Hindu reported.

The Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, initially proposed the transfer on 9 October. Justice Muralidharan, on 10 October, had requested the Collegium either to transfer him back to his parent High Court of Madras or allow him to continue serving in the Manipur High Court.

In response, the Collegium, in a note on 11 October, stated that it did not find merit in his requests and reiterated its recommendation to transfer Justice Muralidharan to the Calcutta High Court.

The Collegium noted that it had consulted a Supreme Court judge familiar with the affairs of the Manipur High Court and the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court before making the recommendation for Justice Muralidharan's transfer.

Justice Muralidharan, who was serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, took over the role following the elevation of Justice PV Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court in February 2023.

The Collegium had previously recommended Delhi High Court judge, Justice Siddharth Mridul, as the regular Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court in July. However, the proposal had been pending with the government for months.

During a hearing on 9 October, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, a member of the Collegium, informed the court that the government had indicated it would soon issue the notification for Justice Mridul's appointment as the Manipur Chief Justice. Interestingly, on the same day, the Collegium proposed the transfer of Justice Muralidharan out of Manipur.

The move to transfer Justice Muralidharan is linked to a 27 March order he issued, directing the Manipur government to promptly consider the inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, which is considered a trigger for ethnic violence in the State.

Additionally, the Collegium has separately recommended fresh judicial appointments to the High Courts of Kerala, Tripura, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Bombay, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.