Centre renominated twice-rejected judicial officer for elevation to HC

The Supreme Court collegium was left surprised last week after the Union government sent back, for the third time in two years, the name of a judicial officer for elevation to the Delhi high court, despite the fact that the collegium had already rejected the proposal twice on the basis of adverse inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

- Utkarsh Anand

The name, which was first considered in 2023, was returned to the Delhi high court by the collegium following negative feedback from IB regarding the candidate's suitability for elevation.

According to people familiar with the matter, there was no change in the IB’s stance when the name was sent for reconsideration last year and again this year, and yet, the government chose to forward it once more.

The move, which came up at the collegium’s July 2 meeting, baffled members who saw little justification in the reiteration, particularly when the inputs from the intelligence agency remained unchanged. The collegium rejected the name yet again.

Apart from Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice BR Gavai, the collegium comprised justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath.

This development comes amid growing tensions over the Centre's selective action on judicial appointments and the inordinate delay in clearing several names recommended by the collegium over the past two months.

Despite having acted swiftly to notify the appointment of three new Supreme Court judges in May, the government has since shown no urgency in processing a raft of other critical recommendations, including appointments and transfers at the level of high courts.

On May 26, in his first collegium meeting as CJI, Justice BR Gavai led a major overhaul of judicial positions across the country.