After resigning, Madras HC Chief Justice abstains from court hearing

Madras High Court Chief Justice VK Tahilramani on Monday (September 9) abstained from court proceedings, three days after she resigned from the top post as a mark of protest against her transfer to the Meghalaya High Court.

Chief Justice Tahilramani was scheduled to lead to the first bench of the court on Monday and hear about 75 cases listed before the bench, said sources.

Meanwhile on Monday, a huge protest erupted outside the Madras High Court condemning the transfer of the Chief Justice. The Madras Bar Association has also called for a statewide court boycott on Tuesday.

ALSO READ | After SC declines to reconsider transfer, Madras HC Chief Justice resigns

A Supreme Court collegium headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi had on August 28 decided to transfer Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice AK Mittal to Madras High Court and Tahilramani to Meghalaya. Meghalaya High Court has a sanctioned strength of four judges, while the Madras High Court has a strength of 75 judges.

When the collegium sought the response of Tahilramani, she requested the collegium to reconsider her transfer and explained the difficulties in going to a north-eastern state. The Madras Bar Association too had written to the collegium to reconsider its decision. However, the collegium was firm on its decision to transfer her to Meghalaya.

On Friday night, media reports stated that Tahilramani has tendered her resignation to the President, even though there was no official statement about the same.

Justice Tahilramani, was appointed as a judge of the Bombay High Court at the age of 43 and was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on August 12, 2018. She is one among the two women chief justices across the 25 high courts in the country.