Justice Nagarathna dissents on collegium’s top court pick

CJI’s nephew among 14 names proposed for elevation to HC

- Utkarsh Anand

The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended the elevation of Bombay high court chief justice Alok Aradhe and Patna high court chief justice Vipul M Pancholi to the top court, with Justice BV Nagarathna recording a strong note of dissent against Justice Pancholi’s appointment and underlining that his appointment would not only be “counterproductive” to the administration of justice but would also put the credibility of the collegium system at stake. Her note referred to the circumstances of his transfer from the Gujarat high court to the Patna high court.

The five-member collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari and Nagarathna, took the decisions with a 4-1 split on Justice Pancholi, as the lone woman judge in the top court issued a rare detailed dissent opposing his elevation.