The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Himachal Pradesh High Court collegium to reconsider the elevation of two senior-most district and sessions judges as high court judges
The apex court emphasized that the decision to reconsider recommendations could not be made solely by the chief justice of the high court but must involve the entire high court collegium acting collectively.
A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra delivered the verdict in response to a petition filed by the two senior-most district and sessions judges. The judges argued that their merit and seniority had not been properly evaluated by the high court collegium during the selection process for high court judgeship.
The bench highlighted that the high court collegium had failed to engage in collective consultation and deliberation when making its recommendations. As a result, the Supreme Court ordered the high court collegium to revisit the names of the petitioners, Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra, for elevation as judges of the high court, in accordance with a Supreme Court collegium decision dated January 4, 2024.
During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel referred to the Supreme Court collegium’s January 4 resolution and a subsequent communication from the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to the Himachal Pradesh High Court, arguing that the petitioners’ names should have been considered by the high court collegium.
(With inputs from agency)
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