Bombay HC has no option but to ‘wait’ for its 42nd CJ
The Bombay High Court, which is considered as one of the important high courts, is not likely to get a new Chief Justice, at least in the near future.
The nearly 150-year-old court is being presided over by an Acting Chief Justice since December 2017 and there seems to be a ‘dead-end’ for the appointment of the 42nd Chief Justice (CJ).
Justice Vijaya Tahilramani, who was appointed as a judge of the Bombay high court in June 2001, is presently holding the charge of the Acting Chief Justice. She is known for her hold on criminal matters and also for executing administrative duties but now her ‘seniority’ has come in the way of the 42nd CJ of the Bombay HC.
Justice Tahilramani is the senior-most puisne (regular) judge not only of the Bombay HC but in the entire nation. In such a scenario, unless Justice Tahilramani is elevated as a CJ of some other High Court, no judge of any other HC can be brought in Bombay as a CJ, since all of them are junior to her.
According to Justice (retd.) VG Palshikar of the Bombay
HC, the government can instead elevate Justice Tahilramani directly to the Supreme Court just like Justice Ranjana Desai was sworn in to the top court, in the previous years.
Justice Palshikar explained this entire issue of seniority and no vacancies to the Free Press Journal. “At present, Justice Tahilramani stands at the first position in the list of judges in the nation, on seniority basis. This means unless she is sent out of Bombay HC as a CJ to some other HC, no judge can be brought in here,” Justice Palshikar said.
Justice Palshikar further said, “Moreover, there is no vacancy for any judge of the Bombay HC to go out. This is so because at present there are three judges in the Supreme Court from Bombay, which means the quota is full. Also, in case of other HCs in India, two HCs already have a CJ from Bombay HC. This means until and unless any of the five judges (three in SC and two in HCs) retire, Justice Tahilramani cannot be sent to some other HC.”