Judge’s delay in assuming office after transfer from Madras to Kerala High Court sparks concerns among Bar members

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Judge’s delay in assuming office after transfer from Madras to Kerala High Court sparks concerns among Bar members
Justice Nisha Banu, however, says she has applied for earned leave at the Madras High Court in view of her son’s marriage
Updated – November 06, 2025 07:46 pm IST – CHENNAI

MOHAMED IMRANULLAH S.

Justice J. Nisha Banu who has been transferred from the Madras High Court to Kerala High Court | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The delay in Justice J. Nisha Banu assuming office at the Kerala High Court pursuant to her transfer from the Madras High Court on October 14, 2025 has led to a disquiet among the Bar members both in the principal seat of her parent High Court in Chennai as well as its Madurai Bench.

Being the third senior judge in the Madras High Court, she had become a part of the collegium that recommends candidates for judgeship. However, she would be pushed to the ninth position in seniority if she joins the Kerala High Court and that had now become a bone of contention.

She was elevated as a judge of the High Court on October 5 in 2016.

In August this year, the Supreme Court collegium recommended her transfer to the Kerala High Court along with the transfer of several other judges across the country. The recommendation culminated in a presidential transfer order issued on October 14.

Representation to President, CJI
Although more than 20 days has lapsed since then, Ms. Justice Banu has not assumed charge of her office in the Kerala High Court till date. In the meantime, some office-bearers of the Bar associations in the Madurai Bench sent representations against her transfer to the President, Chief Justice of India and the Union Law Minister on October 22.

The joint representation stated that the transfer of the senior judge to the Kerala High Court would drastically affect her seniority since she would be placed only in the ninth position over there. As a favourable alternative, the office-bearers suggested that she could be transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court where she could be placed in the second position.

Letters to Union Law Minister
On coming to know about the representation, around 200 individual lawyers from the Madurai Bench wrote to the Union Law Minister stating that the office-bearers had not consulted the general body of the Bar associations before opposing the transfer of Justice Banu to the Kerala High Court. They urged the Minister to ignore the representation sent by the office-bearers.

Subsequently, the office-bearers of the Bar associations in Madurai have now written to the CJI, the Supreme Court collegium judges and the Union Law Minister urging them to ignore their October 22 representation since it was not a collective decision of the Bar members.

Complaint
In the meantime, about 50 lawyers practising in the principal seat of the High Court in Chennai have sent a representation to the President, Vice-President, Chief Justice of India, other judges of the Supreme Court and the Law Minister complaining about the delay on the part of Ms. Justice Banu in assuming office at the Kerala High Court. They claimed that the long delay of three weeks was unprecedented.

Judge’s response
When approached for her reaction, Justice Banu said, she had submitted an earned leave application at the Madras High Court in view of her son’s marriage and was simultaneously awaiting the result of a request made for reconsideration of her transfer to the Kerala High Court.

Hailing from Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari district, Ms. Justice Banu had obtained her professional degree from the Government Law College in Madurai and enrolled herself with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in 1990 before commencing her practice as a lawyer at the High Court in Chennai.

She shifted her practice from the principal seat in Chennai to the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court after the latter’s inauguration in July 2004. She also served as the president of the women lawyers association over there.

Published – November 06, 2025 07:27 pm IST