Justice Atul Sreedharan quoted poet Rahat Indori at his farewell from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, reflecting on impermanence as he moves to the Allahabad High Court. Bar leaders voiced concern over his frequent transfers and judicial independence.
Justice Atul Sreedharan, while saying goodbye to the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday, quoted an Urdu poem to express his feelings as he prepared to take charge at the Allahabad High Court.
Speaking at his farewell in Jabalpur, Justice Sreedharan reflected on the impermanence of positions and transfers in the judiciary, quoting poet Rahat Indori:
“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 transfer to the Allahabad High Court was notified on October 18, shortly after the Supreme Court Collegium accepted the Central government’s request not to transfer him to the Chhattisgarh High Court, as was originally proposed.
This change in transfer decision raised eyebrows in legal circles due to the government’s intervention in a matter usually left to the Collegium.
Previously, Justice Sreedharan had been transferred from the Madhya Pradesh High Court to the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court in April 2023.
That transfer had been at his own request, as his daughter had begun practising law in Madhya Pradesh. In March 2024, he was brought back to his parent High Court in Madhya Pradesh.
Now, within a few months, he has again been transferred, this time to Allahabad, the largest High Court in the country.
Speaking about this transition, Justice Sreedharan said transfers are an accepted part of a judge’s career.
He said,
“Transfers are an incident of service and I am excited and looking forward to serving at the Allahabad High Court, the largest High Court in the country,”
At the farewell ceremony, he thanked Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and his fellow judges for their cooperation during his short tenure in Jabalpur.
Justice Sreedharan said,
“I am grateful to Justice Sachdeva for the peaceful time I have had here. He embodies the very notion of a people’s judge, learned yet humble, polite yet firm, accommodative yet resolute,”
He expressed his gratitude to the Bar members as well, thanking them for their understanding during his second stint at the court.
He aid,
“I am thankful to the Bar for tolerating my second innings with such grace and compassion,”
Justice Sreedharan also took a moment to acknowledge his mentors and the advocates he worked with early in his career.
He said,
“I am what I am as a judge because of my two gurus, Mr. Gopal Subramanium and Mr. Satyendra Kumar Vyas and all of you fine ladies and gentlemen of the Bar who gave me the space to expand in girth and worth, if I may say so, in a lighter vein, and who have tolerated my idiosyncrasies and my momentary lapse of balance on the Bench. I have no doubt in my mind when I say that the Bar is the most powerful sentinel for the Bench, and I hope and pray that the relationship between the two in my parent High Court touches the heights of cordiality and singularity of purpose, as that would be the greatest guarantee of the preservation of constitutional values in our society,”
Bar leaders, too, spoke at length about the frequent transfers of Justice Sreedharan and their impact on the functioning of the judiciary.
Sanjay Agrawal, President of the High Court Advocates’ Bar Association, Jabalpur, stated,
“Such frequent transfers, even though guided by administrative exigencies, inevitably disrupt the continuity of justice and the building of a stable judicial environment. For the Bar, it is always a challenge to lose a judge with whom we have only just begun to develop understanding and rhythm. For litigants, these transfers can sometimes mean a loss of consistency in adjudication and for the institution itself, it slows down the natural process of growth that comes from a settled bench.”
He also raised concern about the government’s intervention in the transfer process.
Agrawal said,
“This development brings to light the larger issue that concerns the very independence of the judiciary. While administrative decisions may evolve, the sanctity of transfer of judges of the High Court must remain free from any executive interference. The judiciary must function without fear or favour and any perception of external influence in such matters risks undermining the faith of people in the impartiality of our institutions. It is imperative that constitutional balance between the executive and judiciary is preserved, ensuring that the latter continues to act as a fearless guardian of justice,”
President of the High Court Bar Association (Gwalior), Pawan Pathak, also voiced his concern over the repeated transfers.
He said,
“The repeated transfers of Justice Sreedharan are pointing to some unwanted pressure.”
He further added that the Association condemns such actions and stands firmly for the independence of judges.
Justice Sreedharan’s legal journey has been notable. He began his career in 1992 when he joined the chamber of Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium in Delhi, assisting him in various civil and criminal cases before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, and trial courts.
He practised independently in Delhi from 1997 to 2000 before moving to Indore in 2001, where he continued his independent practice and worked closely with Senior Advocate Satyendra Kumar Vyas.
He served as Panel Advocate and Government Advocate for the State of Madhya Pradesh before the Indore Bench of the High Court. On April 7, 2016, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and was confirmed as a permanent judge on March 17, 2018.
Justice Sreedharan was also a part of the High Court Collegium in Madhya Pradesh and would have been in a similar role had he been transferred to the Chhattisgarh High Court. However, at the Allahabad High Court, he will now be ranked seventh in seniority.
In his farewell, Justice Sreedharan ended on a reflective note, acknowledging the transient nature of power and position in public service, emphasizing that humility and constitutional integrity must remain at the heart of the judiciary.
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