SC collegium slams centre for not notifying Madras HC lawyer's elevation as judge: 'Matter of grave concern'

SC collegium slams centre for not notifying Madras HC lawyer's elevation as judge: 'Matter of grave concern'

The collegium expressed concerns over the Centre ignoring recommended names, stating that it is a serious matter.

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Wednesday, March 22, 2023, 06:32 PM IST
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Supreme Court of India | PTI

The Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday passed a resolution containing harsh criticism of the Central Government for its selective approval of certain names of judges while withholding others recommended for promotion earlier. The Collegium, which consists of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and Justice KM Joseph, expressed concerns over the Centre ignoring recommended names, stating that it is a serious matter.

The resolution made reference to Advocate John Sathyan, whose nomination as a judge of the Madras High Court has not been approved by the Centre, despite the Collegium having reiterated his recommendation on January 17. Although the Collegium had specifically instructed that Sathyan's nomination take precedence over other first-time nominees, the Centre disregarded this and notified the appointment of subsequent recommendations, including the controversial appointment of Justice L Victoria Gowri. The Centre had cited Sathyan's sharing of a critical article about the Prime Minister as a reason for objecting to his appointment. However, the Collegium deemed Sathyan to be a suitable candidate and overruled this objection.

During the March 21 meeting, the Collegium put forth the recommendation to elevate four judicial officers to the Madras High Court. Within that resolution, the Collegium made pointed remarks against the Centre for holding back certain names.

In it's resolution, the collegium said: "The Collegium is of the considered view that necessary action for the issuance of a notification for the elevation of persons who have been recommended earlier in point of time should be taken at the earliest including the name of Shri R John Sathyan which has been reiterated by this Collegium on 17 January 2023. The names which have been recommended earlier in point of time including the reiterated names ought not to be withheld or overlooked as this disturbs their seniority whereas those recommended later steal march on them. Loss of seniority of candidates recommended earlier in point of time has been noted by the Collegium and is a matter of grave concern".

The Collegium made a decision to propose the appointment of four judicial officers, namely R Sakthivel, P Dhanabal, Chinnasamy Kumparappan, and K Rajasekar, as Judges of the Madras High Court.

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