NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras
The Tamil Nadu government has come down heavily on the Centre for alleged interference with the functioning of the judiciary, even as the Madras High Court dismissed two petitions, seeking to restrain transferred Chief Justice N K Jain from discharging his functions in the court.
"The Centre, which is vested with powers to appoint and transfer High Court judges, is posting judges according to its whims and fancies," the Law Minister, C Ponnaiyan, told the Tamil Nadu assembly, replying to a debate on the demand for grants for the ministry.
"Ignoring the fact that the judiciary is an autonomous body, the Centre, with a selfish motive, is appointing and transferring judges, and making justice a scapegoat," he alleged, in an obvious reference to the pending transfer of the Madras High Court Chief Justice N K Jain to Karnataka last week.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed two petitions, seeking to bar the transferred Chief Justice, N K Jain, from discharging judicial and administrative functions, including hearing and disposing of cases, following his recent posting to the Karnataka High Court.
Dismissing the petitions filed by two Madras-based lawyers, Venkatasubbaraj and Senthil Kumar, Justice P Shanmugam, however, referred to a Kerala High Court ruling, restraining a Chief Justice, under orders of transfer, from discharging such functions during the interregnum.
The Judge also found substance in the submissions regarding the propriety of Justice Jain continuing in office after receiving the orders of transfer.
"However, there is no law, to bar the Chef Justice in this respect," he added in his order.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
