SC ने सरकार से पूछा- जजों का अपॉइंटमेंट पेंडिंग क्यों: CJI चंद्रचूड़ ने कहा- कॉलेजियम कोई सर्च कमेटी नहीं, जिसकी सिफारिशों को रोका जाए

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Central Government after the names sent by the Collegium were not approved by the Central Government.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a reply from the Central Government regarding the appointment of judges. The court asked why the names sent again by the Collegium for the appointment of High Court judges have not been approved yet. CJI D.Y. Chandrachud said, ‘The Collegium is not a search committee whose recommendations can be stopped.’

Actually, the Supreme Court was hearing two separate petitions filed by the Jharkhand government and advocate Harsh Vibhor Singhal. The Jharkhand government’s petition was regarding not approving the collegium’s recommendation to appoint MS Ramachandra Rao as the Chief Justice of the state’s High Court.

Advocate Harsh Vibhor Singhal filed a second petition seeking a time frame for the Central government to accept the collegium’s recommendations.

There was a demand to set a time limit for judicial appointments Advocate Prashant Bhushan referred to a petition filed in Common Cause in 2018, which sought setting a time limit for judicial appointments. The court asked the Attorney General to list the names that have been resent by the Collegium and explain why they are pending. After this, the matter was adjourned.

The Jharkhand government said that there was a delay in approving the collegium’s recommendation in the case of the previous Chief Justice as well. The collegium had recommended the name of Justice BR Sarangi of the Orissa High Court as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand on December 27, 2023. The government approved the appointment on July 3, 2024 and Sarangi retired on July 19. He could remain Chief Justice for only 15 days.

The state alleges that the Collegium had recommended the appointment of the Chief Justice long back but the government did not act on it. This has affected the administration of justice and the delay by the Central government is a violation of the Supreme Court’s decisions and a direct attack on the independence of the judiciary.

The Supreme Court Collegium consists of 5 members There are 5 members in the Collegium. CJI is its head. Apart from this, there are 4 most senior judges. Its members include CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice B.R. Gavai. The Collegium appoints judges in the Supreme Court and High Court and recommends their names to the Center. New judges are appointed only after the approval of the Center.