SC Collegium Proposes Names of New CJIs for Seven High Courts
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, has recommended to the government the names of judges for the appointment of new chief justices to seven major high courts across the country.
The new appointments will fill existing and future vacancies in the high courts of Kerala, Orissa, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Telangana, and Gujarat.
In its recommendation, the Supreme College Collegium has focussed on the traditional criteria of seniority, regional representation, and the need for more women judges at the top level in the judiciary, The Hindu reported.
Gujarat high court judge Justice Ashish J. Desai's name has been recommended as the new Chief Justice of the Kerala high court. Justice Desai is the senior most puisne judge of the Gujarat high court and has been handling the responsibilities of Chief Justice of the high court after the retirement of Justice Sonia G. Gokani. The Collegium also noted that Gujarat does not have representation among the chief justices of high courts.
On the other hand, the Collegium suggested that the current CJI of the Kerala high court, Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti, be elevated as a Supreme Court judge.
Following the retirement of the current Chief Justice of Orissa high court, Justice S. Muralidhar, in August 2023, the judges' panel suggested that Justice Subhasis Talapatra be appointed in his place. Justice Talapatra is the senior most puisne judge of the Tripura high court. The Collegium also noted that Tripura high court has no representation among the Chief Justices of high courts since its inception in 2013.
The name of Delhi high court's Justice Siddharth Mridul has been recommended to be appointed as the Manipur Chief Justice. The Manipur high court is currently under Acting Chief Justice M. V. Muralidharan. It was Justice Muralidharan's order of March 27 which is considered the trigger for the violence between Meitei and Kukis in the state.
In fact, Justice Mridul’s recommendation as Manipur high court chief justice comes in place of a still pending February 9, 2023 Collegium recommendation which suggested Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur of the Bombay high court be elevated as the top judge of the Manipur high court.
Now, the Collegium has withdrawn his transfer to Manipur high court and instead proposed he be elevated as the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh. The position in the Andhra Pradesh high court fell vacant on May 19, after Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra was elevated to the Supreme Court.
The judges' panel also observed that Justice Thakur was the senior-most judge of his parent High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, which would get representation among the Chief Justices of the high courts.
The issue of the appointment of judges has, for some time, led to sharp exchanges between the apex court and the Union government. The apex court has even expressed "concern" over Centre withholding approval for appointments of some judges recommended by the Collegium while clearing others.
Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya's name has been recommended for the appointment of Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. The position fell vacant after Justice Ramesh D. Dhanuka's retirement. Justice Upadhyaya is a senior puisne judge of the Allahabad high court, which is the largest high court in the country.
Allahabad’s senior-most puisne judge Justice Sunita Agarwal's name has been suggested for the position of Gujarat Chief Justice. If her appointment takes place, Justice Agarwal would be "the only woman Chief Justice of a High Court as presently there is no woman among the Chief Justices of the High Courts".
The name of Justice Alok Aradhe of the Madhya Pradesh high court has been recommended for appointment as the Telangana Chief Justice. The incumbent Justice Ujjal Bhuyan's name has been recommended for elevation as a Supreme Court judge.
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