Whether chief justice of high court can transfer cases from HC bench to principal seat without hearing parties?

 It is well settled law that Hon'ble the Chief Justice
of a High Court is always the master of roster. It is
the prerogative of the Hon'ble the Chief Justice to
allocate the judicial work to the Judges of the Court.
Hon'ble the Chief Justice decides which Judge shall

sit Single and which Judge shall sit in a Division
Bench. A Judge or a Bench of the High Court can
take up any particular case provided it is assigned by
the Hon'ble the Chief Justice. It is axiomatic that
when the Hon'ble the Chief Justice has power to
allocate judicial work to the Judges and different
Benches, he has a power to withdraw the matters
assigned to the Judges or Benches. The said power
is implicit as the Hon'ble the Chief Justice is the
master of roster. Therefore, the power to transfer the
matters filed at the Benches to the Principal Seat at
Mumbai and vice versa always vests in the Hon'ble
the Chief Justice. Hon'ble the Chief Justice of this
Court in exercise of his power as the master of roster
can always direct that a particular category of cases
pending before its Benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad
and Goa shall be heard at the Principal seat.
Similarly, Hon'ble the Chief Justice of this Court in
exercise of his power as the master of roster can
always direct that a particular category of cases
which ought to be filed before its Benches at
Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa shall be filed and
heard at the Principal seat. While exercising the said
plenary power of transfer, the Hon'ble the Chief
Justice is under no obligation to hear the parties to
the proceedings;
 The orders of transfer of the Writ Petition No.9207 of
2011 and the Contempt Petition No.277 of 2012

have been passed in exercise of the power of the

Hon'ble the Chief Justice as the master of roster, and
therefore, the said orders cannot be interfered with.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.10048 OF 2012
WRIT PETITION NO.1860 OF 2014
WRIT PETITION NO.8182 OF 2012
W.P. NO.10048 OF 2012
Lawyers' Forum for General Utility
& Litigating Public, Aurangabad,
Through its President. .. Petitioner
Vs
1. The State of Maharashtra ,
2. The Hon'ble the Chief Justice,
3. The Hon'ble High Court of Bombay,
Through its Registrar. .. Respondents


CORAM : A.S. OKA & G.S.KULKARNI, JJ

DATE ON WHICH JUDGMENT IS PRONOUNCED: 11TH DECEMBER 2014
Citation;AIR 2015 (NOC) 517 Bom,2016(3) ALLMR613

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