Centre notifies transfers of Telugu state judges to Madras HC

HYDERABAD: The Central government on Thursday notified the transfers of judges Devaraju Nagarjun, of the Telangana High Court, and Battu Devanand, of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, to the Madras High Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium chaired by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud decided on the transfers on November 24, 2022, and sent the proposals for the President’s approval. It was pending since.

Justice Nagarjun was elevated as a judge of the Telangana High Court under the judicial officer quota on March 24, 2022, after working as a registrar in the High Court. He is a native of Wanaparthy district, and a graduate of RLD College and SSL Law College in Gulbarga. He completed his ML and MA from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He was awarded a PhD in 2013 by Nalsar.

After being selected as a junior civil judge in 1991, he served in the capacity of junior and senior civil judges at various places till 2004. He worked as a district judge at the Rangareddy court and was later appointed registrar to the Telangana High Court.

Justice Devanand was elevated as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on January 13, 2020. Born on April 14, 1966, in Gudivada town of Krishna district, he is a graduate of ANR College and College of Law, Andhra University. He was also a student union president during his time at AU.

After enrolling as an advocate with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh on July 6, 1989, he practised at the district court of Visakhapatnam before shifting to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. He served as a government pleader in the High Court from July 14, 2014, to July 5, 2019.