SC recommends transfer, appointment of eight CJs

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 18 (AGENCIES)

In a major reshuffle in higher judiciary, transfers and appointments of eight Chief Justices of High Courts have been recommended to the Government by the collegium of Supreme Court Judges headed by Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti.

Justice B Subhasan Reddy, who as Chief Justice of Madras High Court was facing a hostile Bar after he tried to rein them in with a Code of Ethics, has been transferred to Kerala High Court as the Chief Justice, official sources said.

Justice Markandey Katju, a Judge of the Allahabad High Court, has been transferred as Chief Justice of Madras High Court to succeed Justice Reddy.

Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice B K Roy, during whose tenure all the Judges of the High Court took an unprecedented step of going on mass casual leave due to certain differences with him, has been recommended to be transferred to Patna High Court as the Chief Justice.

Justice Altamas Kabir, Judge of Calcutta High Court, has been recommended by the apex Court collegium to be made the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court succeeding Justice Roy, sources said.

Justice N K Sodhi, Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, has been transferred to Karnataka High Court as the Chief Justice.

Allahabad High Court will soon get a new Chief Justice in Justice A N Ray, who at present is a Judge in Calcutta High Court. The Collegium has recommended Justice Rays appointment as the CJ of the High Court, the official sources said.

Chief Justice of Uttaranchal High Court, Justice V S Sirpurkar, has been transferred as the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.

Justice Cyriac Joseph, a judge of Kerala High Court, will succeed Justice Sirpurkar as the Chief Justice of Uttaranchal High Court, the sources said.