Nearly 20,000 senior advocates, members of the Madras High Court Advocates Association, Bar Council and other affiliated bodies on Tuesday struck work and boycotted court proceedings protesting the transfer of Madras High Court Chief Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani, who has subsequently resigned.

On September 6, Justice Tahilramani tendered her resignation protesting the transfer to the Meghalaya High Court, after the Supreme Court Collegium passed a resolution rejecting her representation seeking to reconsider the transfer.  Only Government advocates turned up to work at Madras HC today. The advocates hope to appeal to the Supreme Court collegium, that passed the transfer order, to reconsider its decision along with a simultaneous appeal to Justice Tahilramani to withdraw her resignation.

Yesterday, Madras HC advocates held a lunch-hour demonstration inside the court premises, condemning her transfer. On Monday morning, Tamil Nadu Law Minister CV Shanmugam met the Chief Justice at her residence and requested her to withdraw her resignation. On Saturday, Justice Tahilramani resigned over the Supreme Court collegium’s orders to transfer her to the Meghalaya High Court, “in the interest of better administration of justice.” The collegium had rejected her appeal asking for reconsideration of the transfer. Justice AK Mittal, Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, was recommended to take her place as the Madras High Court Chief Justice. Justice AK Mittal is two years her junior when it comes to seniority.

—India Legal Bureau