Rumblings of reshuffles at the Karnataka High Court have sparked a flurry of speculation, but Justice Krishna S Dixit isn’t flinching. He’s not just ready to pack his bags — he’s already talking about the Himalayas.
During a hearing on April 17, Justice Dixit addressed the whispers of an impending transfer with his trademark wit. When a lawyer asked for a future date in the matter, he quipped, “Next week anyway you may have a good bench also. You are weeding away all bad people now,” drawing laughter in the courtroom.
His tone might’ve been playful, but his message was clear: duty over drama.
“A soldier goes where he’s posted. He should go there happily and work, that’s all,” he said. “If a High Court bench is set up in the Himalayas, I will go there too. No problem.”
The courtroom moment, though light in tone, landed squarely amid murmurs that four senior judges — Justices Krishna Dixit, K Natarajan, Hemant Chandangoudar, and Sanjay Gouda — may soon be transferred. While the Supreme Court Collegium hasn’t made any public recommendation, the legal grapevine is buzzing, and not everyone is taking it lightly.
Senior Advocate PS Rajagopal, representing the defendants in the matter, responded earnestly to Dixit’s remarks. “I request the judge not to utter that word,” he said, cautioning against accepting transfers without protest. “If we do not learn to protest, we will perish.”
Justice Dixit, seated alongside Justice Ramachandra D Huddar, responded with a smile, “We will not subscribe to that. It is all part of the policy. When we say that we should be committed to the transfer — this applies to us too.”
Rajagopal pushed gently but firmly: “Something needs to be done from the bar. I am not entitled to express my opinion on this platform. However, I request you to forgive my openness.”
The Advocate General K Shashikaran Shetty, also present, offered a nod of agreement — though the air in the courtroom was more contemplative than confrontational.
Meanwhile, over in Dharwad, the mood is anything but amused. The President of the Advocates Association of the Karnataka High Court’s Dharwad Bench has penned a letter to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, urging him to reconsider the rumored transfers. VM Sheelavant called the judges in question “some of the best legal minds” and said the legal community across the state is “in disbelief.”
For now, there’s silence from the Collegium. But if and when the transfer orders arrive, Justice Dixit seems ready. Himalayas or not.
