8 High Courts get new Chief Justices, Central Government made the appointment a day after Supreme Court’s tough stand

New Delhi: The central government has approved the names of Chief Justices for eight High Courts, accepting the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium. This decision has come just a day after the Supreme Court sought clarification on the delay in appointments. The special thing is that the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court has also been appointed, for which the state government had filed a contempt case against the central government in the Supreme Court. The President has signed the appointment of Chief Justices of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madras, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and Jharkhand.

The central government took a quick decision

This quick decision of the government has reduced the possibility of differences between the executive and the judiciary on the issue of appointments in the judiciary. Last year, during judicial proceedings on this issue, the Supreme Court had expressed deep displeasure over the Central Government’s non-compliance of the law. The Supreme Court had said that the collegium system for the appointment of judges is the law of the country and the Central Government will have to follow it. If the collegium sends a name again, then the government has no option but to accept it.

Who was made Chief Justice and where?

The government has appointed Justice Manmohan, Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court as Chief Justice. Justice Rajiv Shakdhar, Judge of Delhi High Court has been appointed Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court. Justice Suresh Kait, another judge of Delhi High Court, will take over as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. Justice Indra Prasanna Mukherjee, Judge of Calcutta High Court has been appointed as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court. Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar, Judge of Bombay High Court will take over as Chief Justice of Kerala High Court. Justice Tashi Rabstan, Acting Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has been appointed as Chief Justice of the same High Court. Justice Sriram Kalpathi Rajendran, Judge of Bombay High Court has been transferred as Chief Justice of Madras High Court and Justice MS Ramachandran Rao, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court has been transferred to Jharkhand High Court.

The Supreme Court had asked the government the reason for the delay

On Friday, the Supreme Court had asked the government to explain why some of the names recommended for the posts of judges are pending and at what level they are stuck. Last year too, the Supreme Court had raised some issues which have not been resolved yet. These include the transfer of some High Court judges and the approval of the names resent by the Supreme Court Collegium for High Court judges. The delay in appointments and the Center’s policy of approving selective names from the Collegium’s recommendations is also a major cause of dispute between the two bodies. The court has repeatedly raised this issue in its judicial proceedings.

What is the guideline for appointment of judges

The Supreme Court had issued detailed guidelines for the timely appointment of judges in 2021 and set a deadline for all officials involved in the process to take a decision. The Supreme Court had said that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) should submit its report/opinion within 4-6 weeks from the date of sending the High Court Collegium’s recommendation to the Center. The Center should send the file to the Supreme Court within 8-12 weeks of receiving the state government and IB reports. After this, the CJI has to send recommendations/advice to the Law Minister within four weeks. The central government has to make the appointment immediately or send back the recommendation for reconsideration. If the names are sent again, the appointment should be made within 3-4 weeks.

The Supreme Court had reiterated that the government can bring in a new system by passing a law but at the same time said that no system can be perfect. The court had said that the current situation of delay in appointment is not good and due to this meritorious lawyers hesitate to become judges.