SC Collegium admits its decision on judge changed after Govt 'sought' it, Pg1.

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court Collegium changed its recommendation regarding the transfer of Justice Atul Sreedharan after the government sought reconsideration [2025-10-15].
• Initially, the Collegium recommended transferring Justice Sreedharan from the Madhya Pradesh High Court to the Chhattisgarh High Court on August 25.
• The Collegium has now resolved to transfer Justice Sreedharan to the Allahabad High Court instead.
• Justice Sreedharan was appointed as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2016.

Detailed Insights:

• The Collegium's decision to change its recommendation is unusual, as it also asked the government to specify that the government sought the reconsideration.
• Had Justice Sreedharan been transferred to the Chhattisgarh High Court, he would have been the second most senior judge; in the Allahabad High Court, he is likely to be seventh in seniority.
• In 2023, Justice Sreedharan voluntarily sought a transfer out of Madhya Pradesh and was transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, later moving back to Madhya Pradesh in 2025.
• During his time in Srinagar, Justice Sreedharan increased judicial scrutiny in preventive detention cases, quashing several cases under the Public Safety Act.
• While in the MP High Court, Justice Sreedharan was part of a division bench that took suo motu cognisance of inflammatory remarks made by a state minister against an Indian Army officer.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Collegium: A system where appointments and transfers of judges are decided by a body of senior judges of the Supreme Court.
• Suo Motu Cognisance: The power of a court to take up a matter on its own, without waiting for a formal complaint.
• Preventive Detention: Detention of an individual without trial, based on the apprehension that they may commit a crime or disrupt public order.