While recommending the elevation of the judges, the Supreme Court collegium voiced concern over the Centre withholding or overlooking the names recommended for appointment as judges, saying it “disturbs” the seniority of the candidates.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud recommended the names of four district judges for appointment as judges of the Madras High Court. The names of the judges recommended by the collegium comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph, include R Sakthivel, P Dhanabal, Chinnasamy Kumarappan, and K Rajasekar.
The resolution dated March 21 stated, "In order to ascertain the fitness and suitability of the above-named judicial officers for elevation to the high court, in terms of the memorandum of procedure, this collegium has consulted the judges of the Supreme Court conversant with the affairs of the Madras High Court."
The collegium also reiterated its earlier recommendation dated July 25, 2022, for the appointment of Senior Advocate Harpreet Singh Brar as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
However, the Supreme Court collegium voiced concern over the Centre withholding or overlooking the names recommended for appointment as judges, saying it “disturbs” the seniority of the candidates. The collegium asked the government to take "necessary action" for the elevation of those recommended earlier.
The collegium, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, said a notification for the elevation of persons recommended earlier should be issued at the earliest. While recommending the name of Rajasekar for elevation, the collegium noted, that his appointment should be notified after the appointment of Neelakandan is notified.
"Shri Neelakandan, who is a member of the Bar, has been recommended earlier in point of time and must be appointed before Shri Rajasekar is appointed. Otherwise, Shri Rajasekar, who is a judicial officer and younger than Shri Neelakandan, would rank senior to Shri Neelakandan. Such a deviation in seniority would be unfair and against the settled convention," the resolution said.
It expressed a similar concern for its recommendation of Shri R John Sathyan, which has been reiterated by this collegium on 17 January 2023.
"The names which have been recommended earlier in point of time including the reiterated names ought not to be withheld or overlooked as this disturbs their seniority whereas those recommended later steal march on them. Loss of seniority of candidates recommended earlier in point of time has been noted by the collegium and is a matter of grave concern," the collegium asserted.
(With PTI inputs)