Chandigarh
Transferred at “midnight” to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in February from the Delhi High Court in midst of the Delhi violence case hearing, Justice S Muralidhar was on Tuesday elevated as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.
The senior-most Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Rajesh Bindal, was also transferred to the country’s oldest High Court, the Calcutta High Court. Currently, the Acting Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Justice Bindal joins there as the first pusine Judge or the senior-most Judge after the Chief Justice. The transfers are yet to be notified.
Available information suggests Justice Bindal may eventually take over as the Chief Justice there. His name was considered as a viable option as Justice Bindal is senior to another Judge in the Calcutta High Court elevated way back in June 2006. The convention makes it clear that a Judge being transferred to another High Court has to be senior to the ones there.
Known for his proficiency in bringing justice closer to people through computerisation, Justice Bindal only about a week back was instrumental in launching of a unique project, in which the post offices in Jammu and Kashmir help in delivering justice. The project uses the pre-existent postal system in 11 districts to allow citizens to register their disputes through the local post offices as well as common service centres.