Justice Atul Sreedharan was sworn in as a judge of the Allahabad High Court following his transfer from Madhya Pradesh. His posting comes after the Supreme Court Collegium accepted the Centre’s request to alter his earlier transfer to Chhattisgarh.
Justice Atul Sreedharan took oath as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday, following his transfer from the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Arun Bhansali of the Allahabad High Court.
Justice Sreedharan’s transfer to the Allahabad High Court took place on October 18, after the Supreme Court Collegium accepted the Central Government’s request not to transfer him to the Chhattisgarh High Court, as was originally proposed.
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This move, coming after government intervention, has drawn public attention and discussion.
The latest transfer also came just a few months after Justice Sreedharan was moved back to his parent High Court in Madhya Pradesh from the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. His frequent transfers within a short time have raised eyebrows within the legal community.
Justice Sreedharan began his law career in 1992 in Delhi, working under Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium. He assisted him till 1997 in several civil and criminal cases before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, and lower courts.
From 1997 to 2000, he practiced independently in Delhi before moving to Indore in 2001, where he continued his legal practice independently.
During his career, he also worked as a Panel Advocate and Government Advocate for the State of Madhya Pradesh before the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Justice Sreedharan was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on April 7, 2016, and later became a Permanent Judge on March 17, 2018.
He was part of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Collegium and would have held a similar position in the Chhattisgarh High Court. However, in the Allahabad High Court, he will now be placed at number seven in the order of seniority.
Justice Sreedharan’s first transfer from Madhya Pradesh came in April 2023, when he was moved to the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court at his own request.
He had asked for this transfer because his daughter had begun her law practice in Madhya Pradesh. Later, in March 2024, he was transferred back to Madhya Pradesh.
Speaking at his farewell reference in Jabalpur before moving to Allahabad, Justice Sreedharan described transfers as a normal part of judicial service. He said that he was looking forward to his new assignment and was honored to serve at the largest High Court in India.
He said,
“Transfers are an incident of service and I was excited and looking forward to serving at Allahabad High Court, the largest High Court in the country,”
At the same event, Justice Sreedharan also reflected on his frequent transfers with a poetic touch, quoting Urdu poet Rahat Indori.
He remarked,
“The only thing permanent in universe is impermanence and I would like to look at the transfers in the words of Rahat Indori, the pride of Indore, who said: Jo aaj sahib-e-masnad hai kal nahi honge (those who are sitting on the throne today, will not be there tomorrow), kiraaye daar hain zaati makaan thodi hai (they are renters, it is not their house).”
Justice Sreedharan’s statement underlined his humility and acceptance of the judicial service’s unpredictable nature, while his reference to Rahat Indori’s verses reflected both wisdom and grace in handling repeated transfers.
His move to the Allahabad High Court marks yet another chapter in his judicial career, one that continues to attract interest due to the circumstances surrounding his transfer and his composed response to them.
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