Supreme Court Judge Questions Executive Role in Judicial Transfers
Justice Bhuyan questions executive influence in judge transfer, warns on judicial independence
In a rare public statement from a sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Saturday expressed deep concern over executive influence in the transfer of high court judges. Delivering the G V Pandit memorial lecture on “Constitutional Morality and Democratic Governance” at ILS Law College, Pune, he firmly stated that the executive has “absolutely no say” in matters of judicial transfers and postings, which must remain an independent judicial process.
Justice Bhuyan specifically pointed to the Supreme Court collegium’s October 2025 decision—initially proposing to transfer Justice Atul Sreedharan from Madhya Pradesh High Court to Chhattisgarh, then revising it to Allahabad High Court “at the request of the Central government.” He described this as a clear example of “striking intrusion of executive influence” into a domain that the Constitution intends to keep free from external pressure.
Without naming the judge directly, Justice Bhuyan questioned whether such transfers occur simply because a judge has passed orders inconvenient to the government, and asked if this does not undermine the independence of the judiciary.
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He delivered a broader warning: judges must avoid appearing to compromise on liberty or human rights to please any authority. “If we lose our credibility, nothing will be left of the judiciary,” he emphasised, highlighting the critical need to uphold constitutional morality and protect democratic governance.
The remarks have reignited debate on the collegium system, executive-judiciary relations, and the safeguards required to ensure judicial autonomy in India.
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