GOVT DOESN’T ACCEPT 14 COLLEGIUM PICKS FOR HC JUDGES

NEW DELHI: The Union government has declined to accept 14 names for appointment in the high courts as judges, asking the Supreme Court collegium to review its recommendations. The numbers include the oldest recommendation made by the collegium back in July 2019.

According to people familiar with the development, it has taken more than a year for the government to decide on returning 10 of these 14 names while two of them have been sent back for the second time even after the collegium reiterated them.

Those names returned for reconsideration earlier this month included five names for appointment in the Calcutta high court which had been pending with the government since July 25, 2019, despite the final recommendation of the SC collegium.

Similarly, one name for the J&K high court had been pending for almost 21 months while another one not accepted by the government for the same court was forwarded in March this year after additional inputs sought by the government regarding the advocate’s legal practice. Pending for 11 months, four names for the Delhi high court have also been returned. Apart from those being sent back for a reconsideration for the first time, the government has also opted to seek a review of two names for the second time. This, even though the memorandum of procedure, which guides the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary, makes it clear that the government is bound by the decision of the collegium after the names are reiterated.