Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 8
Ignoring the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation to appoint Justice AA Kureshi as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Centre has notified the appointment of Justice Ravi Shankar Jha as the Acting Chief Justice of the HC.
Justice Kureshi, senior-most judge of the Gujarat High Court currently on transfer to the Bombay High Court, was supposed to replace present HC Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Seth, who is due to retire on June 9. He was transferred to the Bombay High Court in October last year and the Gujarat High Court Bar Association had protested his transfer.
A government notification said Justice Jha will take over as the acting Chief Justice with effect from June 10. While the collegium’s May 10 recommendation remains pending, the Centre said, “By the powers conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, senior-most judge of the Madhya Pradesh HC, to perform the duties of the office of Chief Justice of that High Court.”
The Centre’s decision ignores the recommendation of the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for appointment of Justice Kureshi. “Having regard to all relevant factors, the collegium is of the considered view that Justice AA Kureshi is suitable for being appointed Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh HC,” the collegium said in its resolution.
Interestingly, the Centre acted upon the collegium’s recommendation to appoint Justice DN Patel as Chief Justice of Delhi HC within two weeks. He was administered oath of office by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Friday.
Other collegium suggestions in ‘cold store’
- Elevation of Justice V Ramasubramanian, senior-most judge in Madras HC, as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
- Appointment of Justice RS Chauhan, senior-most judge in Rajasthan HC, as Chief Justice of Telangana HC
- Currently, Justice Chauhan is functioning as Acting Chief Justice of Telangana HC
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2MC78V1
via Today’s News Headlines
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