End to all speculations: Justice Rajiv Shakdher to move to Madras High Court

The official news that comes from the corridors of the Delhi High Court is that Justice Rajiv Shakdher will soon bid goodbye to the Court that saw him being elevated from the Bar..As reported by Times of India, the notifications for transferring Justice Shakdher and Justice Suresh Kait have been issued by the Law Ministry and both the judges are set to begin their tenure from April 15. Justice Kait will move to Andhra Pradesh..Some days back the transfer of certain judges by the collegium had raked up a lot of buzz in the legal fraternity. Most notable of these transfers was of Justice Shakdher that had left everyone surprised..There were also reports of a group of senior advocates writing to the Supreme Court collegium, requesting it to reverse the order of Shakdher’s transfer. The Indian Express had recently reported that eminent lawyers like Fali S. Nariman, KK Venugopal and former Attorney General for India Soli Sorabjee writing to the collegium in this regard..Amidst all this, Justice Shakdher had maintained a stoic silence unlike his counterpart at the Madras High Court and had chosen to continue with his judicial work with a new roster of company matters assigned to him lately. There were also strong rumors indicating that the much respected judge had decided to hang up his boots and not take up the posting in the Madras High Court after all..With the notification of transfer making his departure from Delhi official, it also quells all speculation surrounding the issue for months together. According to many lawyers, Justice Shakdher who was well liked and respected by the Bar in unison will leave behind a legacy of a judge who was not scared to mince his words while taking on the establishment. Will he make a similar impact on the Madras Bar? Only time will tell.