Chennai: Advocates of Madras High Court dashed off a letter to the top five judges of the Supreme Court registering their protest against Supreme Court collegium recommendation of transferring Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee to Meghalaya High Court.

Justice Banerjee was transferred to Madras High Court ten months back, nearly 237 advocates of the Madras High Court bar have expressed their displeasure over the premature transfer of CJ of Madras High Court. The letter has said that the transfer of CJ was uncalled.

The letter also stated that the transfer of Chief Justice Banerjee from a chartered High Court with a sanctioned strength of 75 judges to the High Court of Meghalaya, established in 2013 and with a current strength of two judges, raises disconcerting questions.

"While transfers for better administration of justice may be necessary in principle, members of the Bar have a right to know why a competent, fearless judge and an efficient administrator of a large High Court where more than 35000 cases were filed this year should be transferred to a Court where the total number of cases instituted in a month is on an average 70-75," the letter stated.

Similar transfers in the past have led to speculation about whether they were affected due to improprieties on the part of the concerned judge or whether there were external factors that led to the decision, the lawyers further said.

The letter pointed out that Justice Banerjee had assumed office as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on January 4, 2021, and is expected to retire in November 2023, Bar and Bench reported.