SC collegium suggests chief justices for three high courts
The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday recommended chief justices for three high courts, on a day the Centre notified the names of nine judges and four additional judges in four high courts
The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday recommended chief justices for three high courts, on a day the Centre notified the names of nine judges and four additional judges in four high courts.
The collegium recommended justice S Vaidyanathan be named chief justice of the Meghalaya high court, justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh as chief justice of the Orissa high court, and justice Ritu Bahri as chief justice of the Uttarakhand high court.
The collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna based its decision on a raft of factors, including the judges’ seniority, representation of high courts, merit and integrity, besides also stressing on the equal opportunity for women to head high courts.
Noting that just one high court has a woman chief justice (justice Sunita Agarwal of the Gujarat high court), the collegium recommended that justice Bahri — currently the senior-most judge of the Punjab & Haryana high court after the chief justice — be elevated and head the Uttarakhand high court.
The Uttarakhand chief justice’s seat was vacated last week after justice Vipin Sanghi’s retirement.
In its resolution, the three-member collegium said, “At present there is only one woman CJ and her elevation would enhance the representation of women among the Chief Justices of the high courts.”
The collegium also noted her experience of over 13 years as the judge of a high court with jurisdiction over two large states.
It also recommended that justice S Vaidyanathan, currently a judge of the Madras high court, occupy the vacancy in the Meghalaya high court after its chief justice Sanjib Banerjee retired on Wednesday. Justice Vaidyanathan was appointed a judge of the Madras high court a decade ago and has authored 1,219 reported judgments.
“He has acquired considerable experience in dispensing justice in one of the largest high courts in the country,” the collegium resolution said.
The Orissa HC, meanwhile, was without a head since justice Subhasis Talapatra retired on October 3. While recommending justice Singh as its new chief justice, the Collegium noted his 11 years of experience as a judge at his parent Patna high court and his diverse field of practice as a lawyer.
He has authored 1,246 reported judgments. “He has maintained high standards of professional ethics at the bar and bench and enjoys a good reputation for conduct and integrity,” the Collegium resolution said.
Meanwhile, the Centre has cleared names of nine HC judges and four additional judges in high courts of Madhya Pradesh, Patna, Punjab & Haryana and Gauhati.
The seven judges appointed for the Madhya Pradesh high court include two lawyers — Vinay Saraf and Vivek Jain and five judicial officers — Rajendra Kumar Vani, Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Binod Kumar Dwivedi, Devnarayan Mishra and Gajendra Singh.
The Supreme Court collegium made these recommendations on October 17.