New Delhi: The implementation of the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendations for the appointment of chief justices of seven high courts has been delayed due to “sensitive material” with the Centre, Attorney General R. Venkatramani informed the Supreme Court on September 13, The Times of India reported. The collegium, which holds the final authority on appointments to constitutional courts, had made the recommendations nearly two months ago.
The Attorney General, addressing a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, explained that the Centre had provided inputs of a sensitive nature, which were preventing the government from filing an affidavit on the matter. Venkatramani added that revealing these issues publicly could potentially harm both the institution and the individuals involved. He suggested submitting the inputs and his recommendations in a sealed cover for the court’s perusal, the TOI report added.
In response, the Supreme Court requested the Attorney General to “sort out” the concerns delaying the appointments. The bench, which was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the mandatory swift implementation of the collegium’s recommendations, deferred the hearing to next week, pending the Attorney General’s response.
Notably, the Supreme Court collegium had recommended the appointments on July 11. The list includes Justice Manmohan as Chief Justice (CJ) of the Delhi High Court, Justice Rajiv Shakdher as CJ of Himachal Pradesh, Justice Suresh Kumar Kaith as CJ of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice G.S. Sandhawalia as CJ of Madhya Pradesh, Justice N.M. Jamdar as CJ of Kerala, Justice Tashi Rabstan as CJ of Meghalaya, and Justice K.R. Shriram as CJ of Madras High Court.
In addition to these appointments, many other recommendations for appointments and transfers of High Court judges remain pending with the government.
During the proceedings, CJI Chandrachud revealed that he had discussed the issue with the Attorney General a day earlier, requesting him to resolve the obstacles preventing the implementation of the collegium’s resolutions.
The CJI-led bench took a measured approach, urging the Attorney General to expedite the process. The delay in appointments is further exacerbating the backlog in high courts, which are grappling with a pendency of 60 lakh cases and a 30% vacancy rate in judges’ posts.
