New Delhi:
The Supreme Court Collegium has expressed concern that the Center is withholding or overlooking the names recommended for appointment as judges, saying this distorts the candidates’ seniority, and has asked the government to take “necessary action ” to increase the previously recommended ones.
The collegium, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, said notice should be given at the earliest for the elevation of persons previously recommended.
The collegium expressed its concerns in a March 21 resolution in which it recommended the names of four district judges for appointment as judges of the Madras High Court. The collegium, which consists of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph, recommended the names of R Sakthivel, P Dhanabal, Chinnasamy Kumarappan and K Rajasekar.
“By its resolution of 17 January 2023, the Collegium of the Supreme Court has recommended the appointment of Shri Ramaswamy Neelakandan, a lawyer working for the Supreme Court of Madras, as Judge of the Supreme Court. As of 31 March 2023, Shri Ramaswamy Neelakandan was 48.07 years old. old while Shri K Rajasekar was 47.09 years old on that date.
“Shri Neelakandan, who is a member of the bar, has been recommended before and must be appointed before Shri Rajasekar is appointed. Otherwise, Shri Rajasekar, who is a bailiff and is younger than Shri Neelakandan, would be the highest ranking Shri Neelakandan. Such a deviation in seniority would be unfair and contrary to established convention,” the resolution said.
The collegium said that while it recommends Rajasekar’s name for elevation, it believes that his nomination should be notified after Neelakandan’s nomination is notified.
“The collegium believes that the necessary action for issuing a notice for the exaltation of persons recommended earlier in time should be taken at the earliest, including the name of Shri R John Sathyan, which has been reiterated by this collegium on January 17, 2023.
“The names recommended earlier in time, including the repeated names, should not be remembered or overlooked as this interferes with their seniority, while the recommended names rush towards them later. Loss of seniority of candidates who were previously in the time recommended has been noted by the collegium and is a matter of great concern,” said the collegium.
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