Govt. Asks Supreme Court To Reconsider The Appointment of 20 HC Judges

The central government has returned the 20 files to Supreme Court Collegium for the recommended names of High Court Judges. The govt. asked SC to reconsider the names.

On November 25, according to people familiar with the process for appointing Supreme Court & high court judges, the administration submitted the papers back to the collegium with “serious objections” regarding the suggested names.

According to sources on Monday, the government has requested that the Supreme Court Collegium reconsider 20 cases involving the nomination of high court judges, including the case of attorney Saurabh Kirpal, who has openly discussed his sexual orientation.

On November 25, according to people familiar with the process for appointing Supreme Court & high court judges, the administration submitted the papers back to the collegium with “serious objections” regarding the suggested names.

They claimed that out of the 20 instances, 11 were new cases & nine were repeats from the highest court collegium.

The Supreme Court Collegium, presided over by the then Chief Justice of India (CJI), N V Ramana, recommended Kirpal’s name for elevation to the position of Delhi High Court judge.

The former Chief Justice of India, B N Kirpal, is the father of Saurabh Kirpal.

In October 2017, the Delhi High Court Committee submitted Kirpal’s name to the collegium for consideration for elevation to the position of high court judge. 

However, it is known that the top court collegium postponed decisions on his name 3 times. He recently told that he thought his sexual orientation was to blame for the situation.

Former Chief Justice of India S. A. Bobde, who succeeded Justice Ramana, reportedly requested further information about Kirpal from the administration. 

In November 2021, the collegium presided over by Justice Ramana finally decided in Kirpal’s favor.

According to the sources, the government has withdrawn all of the names associated with new nominations to high courts regarding which it had “differences” with the Supreme Court Collegium.

On Monday, the Supreme Court lashed out at the Centre for taking so long to approve the names that the collegium had suggested for appointment as judges in the higher judiciary, claiming that this “effectively hampers” the process of appointment.

A three-judge bench of the high court has established deadlines for finishing the appointment process, according to a bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka. These deadlines must be followed, it stated.

Justice Kaul noted that although it seems the administration was dissatisfied that the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act did not pass scrutiny, that could not be an excuse for breaking the law.

After the Supreme Court of India invalidated the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act of 2014 and the NJAC Act in 2015, the Collegium system of current judges selecting judges to constitutional courts was reinstated.

The names proposed, including those repeated by the apex court committee, are not being approved by the government, the highest court informed Attorney General R Venkataramani during the hearing on Monday.

The Supreme Court was considering a plea alleging “wilful violation” of the deadline established by the Supreme Court in its April 20 decision to allow for prompt appointment.