T.N. silent on Centre's proposal to transfer CJ

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, AUG. 12. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalithaa, once again appears to have got the better of the Centre in the battle of nerves the NDA Government has initiated against her since the fateful events of June 30.

Pursuing a strategy to leave Ms. Jayalalithaa stranded in a quagmire of legal entanglements, the Centre seems to have decided to effect a change of guard at the Madras High Court.

Accordingly, the incumbent Chief Justice, Mr. Justice N.K. Jain, is to be transferred to the Karnataka High Court and a senior Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court is to be promoted as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. As per the existing conventions, the Centre does not need the consent of a Chief Minister before transferring out a Chief Justice; however, the Centre feels it is obliged to hold ``consultations'' with the Chief Minister before posting a Chief Justice in his or her State.

The Centre (the Union Law Ministry, after consultation and consent of the Chief Justice of India) is believed to have written about 12 days ago to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in the matter of posting a new Chief Justice. It is pointed out that while the Centre is not bound to accept the views of a Chief Minister, nonetheless it is obliged to go through the motion of ``consultation.''

Rather cleverly, Ms. Jayalalithaa has neither said `no' nor `yes' to the Centre's proposal. The Centre cannot even overrule Ms. Jayalalithaa unless it receives a reply from her. The Centre seems to be at a loss as to how long it can wait to hear from St. Fort George.

On the face of it, all this may seem somewhat innocuous. Yet, sources here and in Chennai suggest that the Centre's thinking was - and is - motivated by a desire to close as many doors of legal relief for Ms. Jayalalithaa as possible. In particular, the move to transfer Chief Justice Jain was aimed at ensuring that Ms. Jayalalithaa's appeal in the Tansi case did not get posted before a ``friendly'' judge. The tactics appear to have paid off as the appeal is now listed before a new judge.

As it is, the Centre feels that the Chief Minister is using her incumbency to turn the legal tide in her favour; and, the idea is to have a Chief Justice who, in the Centre's view, would be firm and fair.

Somehow, the Centre has come to entertain doubts about the incumbent Chief Justice; for example, there was stout opposition to the idea that the Chief Justice could be asked - as per the normal practice - to officiate after Ms. Fatima Beevi was unseated as the Governor. So much so, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh was asked to hold concurrent charge of Chennai's Raj Bhavan.

Perhaps aware of the Centre's designs, Ms. Jayalalithaa is believed to have opted to sit pretty on the communication from New Delhi, waiting for the NDA regime to show its hand first.

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