File photo of Supreme Court.
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 is 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. After their transfers, the number of judges from the Punjab and Haryana High Court posted at the Rajasthan High Court had risen to 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 Singh Kaur.
Sources in the government said a few months back the Centre had told the SC collegium that it is not advisable to have so many judges from one court posted at another high court.
When the collegium recommended elevating Justice Thakur and Justice 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. While the Punjab and Haryana High Court has an approved strength of 85 judges, it is functioning with 46 -- a shortage of 39 judges.
The Rajasthan High Court, on the other hand, has sanctioned strength of 50 judges but is functioning with 31 and faces a shortfall of 19 judges.