NEW DELHI: Steering clear of the controversy over Karnataka high court judge Justice Jayant Patel's resignation, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government had not received any recommendation from the Supreme Court collegium for the judge's transfer. "I have no comments to offer except to say that no proposal of his transfer has been received by us (from the collegium)," the law minister said on Wednesday.Justice Patel, the second senior-most judge of Karnataka HC, resigned on Tuesday after he was asked for his consent by the Supreme Court collegium to be transferred to Allahabad high court. The judge, however, did not give any reason for resignation.Justice Patel, who came into limelight when he ordered a CBI probe into "encounter" of Ishrat Jehan during the chief ministership of Narendra Modi, would have retired in August 2018.He was eligible to become the next chief justice of Karnataka high court after the incumbent S K Mukherjee's retirement on October 9. Chief justices of high courts are selected by the apex court collegium which is headed by the Chief Justice of India and includes the four senior-most judges of the apex court.Sources in the government emphasised that appointments and postings of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts have been the exclusive preserve of the apex court collegium. They also said the collegium zealously guarded what it considered to be its exclusive turf.Justice Patel had earlier served as acting chief justice of Gujarat high court before his transfer to the Karnataka high court in February 2016.His resignation evoked sharp responses with the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association saying it would file "appropriate legal proceedings" before SC against his transfer.

Source: Times of India September 27, 2017 22:07 UTC