The DHCBA is unhappy with the SC Collegium’s recommendation to move Justice Kanth and is calling for a one-day strike

The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) said on Thursday that it was worried about the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation to move Delhi High Court judge Justice Gaurang Kanth to the Calcutta High Court. The collegium said that moving Kanth to Calcutta would hurt the justice system because it would mean fewer judges.

As a sign of protest, the bar association has asked its members not to go to work on July 17, calling the move a “rarest of rare case.”

“It is regrettable that no one is paying attention to the process of filling the vacancies in the Delhi High Court, and that sitting judges are being transferred, which further reduces the number of judges in the Delhi High Court,” said a resolution put forward by its president Mohit Mathur and approved by the bar body.

The decision asked the Supreme Court collegium to think again about its proposal to move Justice Kanth.

The DHCBA said that a copy of the resolution was also being sent to the central government with a request that it not act on the advice and instead ask the collegium to rethink the decision.

The decision said, “DHCBA unanimously decides to ask its members to stay home from work on Monday, July 17, 2023, as a sign of protest because the transfer is so rare.”

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court collegium decided to suggest that three judges from other high courts be moved, even though they had asked to stay where they were.

The collegium, which was led by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud and included Justices S. K. Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B. R. Gavai, and Surya Kant, suggested that Justice Gaurang Kanth be moved from the Delhi High Court to the Calcutta High Court.

Justice Kanth sent a letter on July 7, 2023, asking to be moved to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Rajasthan High Court, or a court in any of the nearby states.