New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has recommended the names of nine additional judges of the Allahabad High Court for appointment as permanent judges of the High Court.
The Collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, in a resolution issued on August 13, said: "The Collegium resolves to recommend that Justices (i) Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi, (ii) Manish Kumar Nigam, (iii) Anish Kumar Gupta, (iv) Ms Nand Prabha Shukla, (v) Kshitij Shailendra, (vi) Vinod Diwakar, (vii) Prashant Kumar, (viii) Manjive Shukla, and (ix) Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal, Additional Judges, be appointed as permanent Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad against the existing vacancies."
The resolution said that on 28 May 2024, the collegium of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad unanimously recommended the additional judges whose names are set out above for appointment as permanent Judges of that High Court. The Chief Minister and the Governor of the State of Uttar Pradesh have concurred with the recommendation, it added.
"A Committee of two Judges of the Supreme Court constituted by the Chief Justice of India in terms of the Resolution dated 26 October 2017 of the Supreme Court Collegium has assessed the judgments of the above-named Additional Judges," said the collegium.
"With a view to assess the merit and suitability of the above-named Additional Judges for their appointment as permanent Judges, the Collegium has scrutinised and evaluated the material placed on record including the opinion of the consultee-colleagues and the reports of the Judgment Assessment Committee," said the collegium.
In a separate resolution, the collegium also recommended the names of three advocates for appointment as judges of the High Court of Gujarat. The advocates are Sanjeev Jayendra Thaker, Deeptendra Narayan Ray alias D N Ray, and Maulik Jitendra Shelat.
On 22 December 2023, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat in consultation with her two senior-most colleagues recommended the names of the above advocates for appointment as judges of that High Court.
The Chief Minister and the Governor of the State of Gujarat have not conveyed their views on the above recommendation.
On Thaker, the collegium said: "Out of the four consultee-Judges, three have given positive opinion on the suitability of the candidate for appointment as a Judge of the High Court and one has offered no opinion. The inputs provided by the Department of Justice in the file indicate that the candidate enjoys a good personal and professional image and that nothing adverse has come to notice with regard to his integrity".
On Ray, the collegium said: "The inputs provided by the Department of Justice in the file indicate that the candidate enjoys a good personal and professional image and that nothing adverse has come to notice with regard to his integrity. The candidate regularly practises before the Supreme Court and has recently been designated as a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court".
The collegium said he has extensive practice which is reflected in his professional income of Rs. 83.29 lakhs and 58 reported judgments delivered in the cases in which he has appeared.
"Bearing in mind all the relevant facts and circumstances, the Collegium is of the considered view that the candidate is fit and suitable for appointment as a Judge of the High Court," it added.
On Shelat, the collegium said: "While three consultee-Judges have given positive opinion on the suitability of the candidate for appointment as a Judge of the High Court, one consultee-Judge has stated that he has not seen the performance of the candidate personally. The inputs provided by the Department of Justice in the file indicate that the candidate enjoys a good personal and professional image and that nothing adverse has come to notice about his integrity".
In a separate resolution, the collegium also remitted to the Gujarat High Court's Chief Justice for reconsideration of the proposal to elevate advocate Tejal Vashi along with other eligible candidates in future.
"We have considered the views of the consultee-Judges on the suitability of the candidate. The inputs provided by the Department of Justice in the file indicate that the candidate enjoys a good personal and professional image and that there is nothing adverse about her integrity. On an overall consideration of the proposal, the Collegium is of the considered view that the proposal for elevation of Ms Tejal Vashi be remitted to the Chief Justice of the High Court for being re-considered with other eligible candidates in future," said the collegium.
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