India, Aug. 27 -- The Supreme Court collegium's decision to recommend Patna high court chief justice Vipul M Pancholi for elevation to the top court triggered a rare split, with justice BV Nagarathna strongly dissenting on the ground that his controversial transfer in 2023 over "serious and grave reasons" cannot be ignored, reviving questions over his July 2023 transfer from Gujarat to Patna.

As reported first by HT on Tuesday, the collegium, in a 4-1 decision, on Monday recommended justice Pancholi's name along with that of Bombay high court chief justice Alok Aradhe, but justice Nagarathna underlined that the credibility of the system itself was at stake if past concerns about a judge's transfer were brushed aside at the time of making...