SC collegium for shifting 2 Rajasthan judges back to Punjab & Haryana HC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court collegium is learnt to have recommended transfer of two judges from Rajasthan back to the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the Centre said it was not advisable to have several judges from the same high court in another high court.

Justices Jaishree Thakur and Anupinder Singh Grewal were transferred to Rajasthan from the Punjab and Haryana High Court soon after they were elevated as judges from the bar.

The number of judges from the Punjab and Haryana High Court posted at the Rajasthan High Court is five.

The other judges from the Punjab and Haryana High Court posted at the Rajasthan High Court are justices Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia, Sabina and Nirmaljit Kaur.

Sources in the government said a few months back the Centre had told the SC collegium that it was not advisable to have so many judges from one court posted at another high court.

When the collegium recommended elevating justices Thakur and Grewal from acting judge to permanent judge, it had informed the government that steps will be taken once the two are elevated.

Now, it has recommended the transfer of the two judges back to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the sources said.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has an approved strength of 85 judges, but it is functioning with 44.