High Court Chief Justice cannot reconsider judges' appointment alone, must involve collegium: SC

The Supreme Court highlighted on Friday that the process of judicial appointments to a superior court is not the prerogative of an individual but a collective responsibility.

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The Apex Court directed the Himachal Pradesh High Court collegium to reconsider "collectively" the elevation of two senior-most district and sessions judges, who were passed over for promotion to high court judgeship.

A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra delivered this ruling on a plea brought by two senior-most district and sessions judges of Himachal Pradesh-Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra who alleged that their merit and seniority had been overlooked by the high court collegium in its recommendation for high court judgeship.

The Supreme Court noted that there was no collective consultation by the high court collegium regarding the elevation of district and sessions judges to the superior court, with the decision on the suitability of the two petitioners seemingly being an "individual decision" of the chief justice of the high court.

The process of judicial appointments to a superior court is not the prerogative of a single individual," the bench remarked. “Instead, it is a collaborative and participatory process involving all collegium members,” the court said.

The bench stressed the importance of collective wisdom in the process of judicial appointments, noting that decisions should be the result of deliberation, debate, and consultation among all members of the collegium.