News of Supreme Court Collegium: The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the decision of the Himachal Pradesh Collegium to ignore the candidature of two senior district judges for promotion to the High Court. Accepting the petition of two senior district judges, the Supreme Court quashed the Collegium’s selection process held earlier this year. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra said that the Collegium’s decision was affected due to lack of consultation because the Chief Justice of the High Court had personally decided not to reconsider the names of two district judges.
It is noteworthy that this decision is the first instance of the Supreme Court’s interference in the decision of the Collegium. Such cases are usually settled administratively by the court. At the same time, a practical approach is adopted while considering petitions against the decisions of the Collegium. While giving the verdict, the judges said that the Chief Justice of the High Court should have consulted other judges in the Collegium. The court directed that the High Court Collegium should now reconsider the names of two district judges as per the prescribed criteria. This process should be done under the Memorandum of Procedure which guides the appointment of judges in constitutional courts.
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Bilaspur District Judge Chirag Bhanu Singh and Solan District Judge Arvind Malhotra had approached the Supreme Court in May. Both had alleged that the Himachal Pradesh High Court Collegium ignored both their merit and seniority. Apart from this, the Supreme Court Collegium’s specific recommendation regarding the appointment of High Court judges was also refused to be accepted. Singh had also recently served as Registrar in the Supreme Court on deputation. In their joint petition, Singh and Malhotra cited a resolution passed by the Supreme Court Collegium on January 4, 2024, seeking direction to the High Court Collegium to reconsider their names.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for the district judges, argued that junior judicial officers were recommended for the post of high court judge under the in-service quota, ignoring the petitioners who were more senior. He said the Himachal Pradesh High Court Collegium did not even heed the advice of the Supreme Court Collegium and the subsequent request of the Union Law Minister to reconsider the names of Singh and Malhotra.