Chandigarh: SAD Chief Seeks PM's Intervention in Sikh Judges' Appointment Case

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and direct notification of the appointment of two eminent Sikh lawyers whose case for appointment as judges in the Punjab and Haryana high court had been cleared by the Supreme Court collegium.

In a statement here, the SAD president said it was shocking that the recommendation of the names of the two lawyers - Harmeet Singh Grewal and Deepinder Singh Nalwa - had been withheld by the Union government even as three other lawyers recommended for appointment as judges in the same list had been approved.

SAD chief rules out all forms of discrimination during appointment

Urging the Prime Minister to look into the matter, Sukhbir Badal said “Due effort should be made to ensure no discrimination was done to the members of the Sikh community and other minority communities in appointment as High Court judges”. He said the apex court’s observation that the central government was resorting to a pick-and-choose policy in this regard was also disturbing and had sent a wrong signal about the government’s intent to the Sikh community.

Asserting that such discrimination had occurred earlier, Sukhbir Badal said “The recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium should be given due weightage and the government should not withhold any name on extraneous grounds”. He said both the recommendations of Grewal and Nalwa deserved to be cleared for appointment to the Punjab and Haryana high court and should be notified at the earliest.