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New Delhi: ThePrint has learned that the files of 14 advocates, including three women lawyers, who were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment as judges in five different high courts, have been sent back by the central government for reconsideration.
These recommendations were pending with the government for more than a year, in some cases nearly 24 months.
Government sources told ThePrint that two of the 14 names were returned for the second time. This means that the Law Ministry refused to accept the two names, despite being reiterated by the collegium.
According to sources, five of the 14 names were for the Calcutta High Court and a proposal for their elevation was sent to the government in July 2019.
Meanwhile, there were four recommendations for the Delhi HC. They were part of a list of six names sent to the Center in August 2020 and out of which the government notified two advocates.
Two names belonged to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which had suggested both in its resolution sent to the SC in March 2019. The apex court collegium had approved one name in October 2019, while the other was forwarded after the appointment in March this year. The body received additional information sought by it in relation to the legal practice of the advocate.
The files returned also include two names for the Karnataka HC, one of which has been sent back for the second time. This candidate was initially recommended in October 2019 and was repeated in March this year.
Similarly, the government has once again sought reconsideration of an advocate selected for the Kerala HC. The apex court collegium had suggested his promotion in March 2019 and reiterated its decision in March 2021, overcoming the Centre’s earlier objections.
The decision to send the recommendations back a second time may also revive the row between the judiciary and the executive over appointments to the higher judiciary as it defies the provisions laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) – to be adopted by the collegium and the Centre. rule book. judicial appointments.
According to the MoP, if the collegium reiterates a recommendation, it is binding on the government.
Serious crisis of vacancies in High Courts
development comes after government I promised Supreme Court to communicate its decision on files pending for more than six months within three months in April this year.
It was only after the apex court was apprised of the serious vacancy crisis that the high courts were functioning with less than 50 per cent of the sanctioned strength.
A bench headed by former CJI SA Bobde had set a deadline for the central government to appoint judges in the high courts.
It then underlined that “expeditiousness in this process is to facilitate the larger cause of timely delivery of justice”.
The bench had also highlighted the “crisis situation” in the HC and called for a “collaborative” exercise involving the judiciary and the government, lamenting that there is a shortage of about 40 per cent judges in the HC.
On the names repeated by the collegium, the judgment said, “Such appointments should be processed and the appointments made within three to four weeks.”
For appointment of judges in the higher judiciary, a list of proposed candidates is sent by the concerned High Court to the Center as well as the SC Collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the top two senior judges of the apex court. CJI.
The collegium can take up the files for consideration only if the government places before it all the material about a candidate including his inputs. After deliberation, the names are sent to the government for final notification. If the government returns the files, the SC collegium can either repeat it or withdraw the proposal.
Read also: 9 new judges of Supreme Court – 3 women, 1 OBC, 1 SC and 9 from different states
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