Tag: many hc chief justices

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court‘s five-member collegium headed by CJI S A Bobde failed to reach consensus over recommending Justice B V Nagarathna, a judge of Karnataka High Court, for appointment as judge of the SC as some said it would lead to supersession of many HC chief justices, who are far more senior than her.
CJI Bobde and another judge had placed Justice Nagarathna’s name for consideration before the collegium also comprising Justices N V Ramana, R F Nariman, U U Lalit and A M Khanwilkar with the hope that if she got through the process of scrutiny and the government appointed her, then she would go on to become the first woman CJI after retirement of Justice Surya Kant as CJI in February 2027.
But some members of the collegium argued that recommending Justice Nagarathna’s name, even in the women’s quota, would lead to supersession of several HC chief justices, including Justice Abhay S Oak (Karnataka) and two other senior judges from Karnataka — Justice L Narayana Swamy (present CJ of Himachal HC who belongs to the Scheduled Caste community) and Justice Ravi V Malimath (senior judge in Himachal Pradesh and belonging to OBC community).
A few members of the collegium said if Justice Nagarathna’s name was to be recommended for appointment as SC judge, then it should be along with that of Justice Oak.
But both the names appeared to be breaching the balance in regional representation among SC judges, as observed by the apex court in its fourth judges case judgment in 2015, while striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission.
If Justice Nagarathna is appointed, there will be four judges from Karnataka in the SC. If Justice Oak’s name is recommended, there will be five judges from Maharashtra. If the collegium recommends Justice Nagarathna, then it could also be accused of ignoring Justice Hima Kohli, the senior-most among women HC judges in the country and the present CJ of Telangana HC. Justice Kohli’s parent HC is Delhi and her elevation would increase the number of judges from Delhi HC in the SC to four.
The collegium members appear to have been caught in a Catch-22 situation and the sharp division in views over Justices Nagarathna and Oak seems to have pushed the discussion over other names to the background. The SC has five vacancies at present against the sanctioned strength of 34.
With just a little over a month to go for CJI Bobde’s retirement on April 24, it is not clear whether there will be a collegium meeting again this week or next week to reach a consensus over some names so that the CJI does not retire without making any appointment to the SC. As per convention, the CJI writes to the government a month before his retirement for appointment of his successor and then refrains from holding any collegium meeting for selection of judges to the SC or HCs.