The authority to transfer a judge from one High Court to another rests with the:

Under Article 222, the President may, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, transfer a judge from one High Court to any other High Court.

Role of the Chief Justice and the collegium:

• In the Third Judges Case (1998), the Supreme Court held that the Chief Justice of India must consult a collegium of the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court before recommending a transfer.
• The opinion of the Chief Justices of the two High Courts concerned is also taken into account.
• In practice, the President acts on the recommendation of the collegium.

Compensatory allowance:

A transferred judge is entitled to a compensatory allowance, in addition to his salary, as determined by Parliament.

Purpose of transfers:

• To promote national integration.
• To ensure impartiality, for example when a judge has close relatives practising in the same High Court.
• For better administration of justice.

Judicial review of transfers:

In the S.P. Gupta case (1981), known as the First Judges Case, the Court held that a transfer can be made without the consent of the judge, but it must be in the public interest.

The Court has held that transfers cannot be used as punishment.

Judicial review of transfers is very limited, and courts usually do not interfere with collegium decisions.

Controversies:

Some transfers have been criticised as punitive, such as when judges were transferred after delivering judgments against the government.

Transfer of a Chief Justice:

The Chief Justice of a High Court can also be transferred to another High Court in the same way.

Transfer of cases:

Transfer of cases between High Courts is a separate matter, decided by the Supreme Court under Article 139A.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Chief Justice of India recommends, but the President makes the order.
• ✗The Law Minister and the Governor do not have this power.