New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud passed a new resolution on Tuesday making changes to its earlier recommendation for the appointment of chief justices of the high courts.
On July 11, the collegium recommended the appointment of new chief justices in the eight high courts across the country. The collegium had recommended the appointment of chief justices of high courts of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras and Meghalaya.
The collegium, comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, today issued a resolution recommending the appointment of justices Indra Prasanna Mukerji, Suresh Kumar Kait, GS Sandhawalia, and Tashi Rabstan as chief justices of the Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high courts.
The collegium recommends that Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya. “While recommending his name, the collegium is conscious of the fact that the High Court at Calcutta is represented by a Judge in the Supreme Court of India and a Chief Justice among the chief justices of the high courts”, said the collegium.
On July 11, the collegium had recommended the appointment of Justice Tashi Rabstan, a Bot Scheduled Tribe from Ladakh as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.
Justice Tashi Rabstan would be the first chief justice from the region of Ladakh which has otherwise little or no representation among the judges of the high courts and no representation at all so far in the office of chief justice. “Besides belonging to Ladakh, he is a Buddhist and belongs to the Bot Scheduled Tribe and his appointment will bring diversity in the office of Chief Justices of the High Courts. The Collegium, therefore, in supersession of its earlier recommendation made on 11 July 2024, recommends that Mr Justice Tashi Rabstan be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh”, said the collegium’s resolution.
Earlier, Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
The collegium said since Justice Tashi Rabstan is now being recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the collegium proposes that Justice Suresh Kumar Kait be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait is the senior puisne Judge of the High Court of Delhi, who was appointed on 5 September 2008. He belongs to the Scheduled Caste category. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait ranks at serial No 5 in the all-India seniority list of high court judges, including chief justices. He is due to retire on 23 May 2025. He is senior to the senior most judge in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, namely, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, acting chief justice of that High Court.
“The Collegium, therefore, in supersession of its earlier recommendation made on 11 July 2024, recommends that Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh”, said the resolution.
The collegium said Justice G S Sandhawalia is the senior most puisne judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and he was appointed as a judge of that high court on 30 September 2011.
“Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher has been proposed to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on the transfer of Mr Justice M S Ramachandra Rao, Chief Justice of that High Court. Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher is due to retire on 18 October 2024”, said the resolution.
“The Collegium, therefore, in supersession of its earlier recommendation made on 11 July 2024, recommends that Mr Justice G S Sandhawalia be appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on the retirement of Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher on 18 October 2024”, added the resolution.
The collegium clarified its resolution will not affect the recommendations on July 11, 2024 as regards the proposals in respect of Justice Manmohan, Justice Rajiv Shakdher, Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar, and Justice K R Shriram.
On July 11, Justice Manmohan was recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice Shakdher as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar, as Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, and Justice K R Shriram, as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
The collegium had then also recommended the transfer of Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh, M S Ramachandra Rao to Jharkhand High Court as Chief Justice over there. All the above recommendations are still pending approval from the central government.
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