Supreme Court collegium clears two names for Punjab and Haryana High Court

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the elevation of two judicial officers as judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, continuing the process of filling vacancies in the higher judiciary.

The collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, approved the proposal at its meeting on December 16, according to a statement issued by the apex court. The officers recommended are Ramesh Chander Dimri and Neerja Kulwant Kalson.

The recommendations were initially initiated by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in consultation with the court’s two senior-most judges, in line with the prescribed procedure for appointments to High Courts.

Under the Memorandum of Procedure governing judicial appointments, proposals for appointing High Court judges originate from the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. If the Chief Minister wishes to suggest any names, these must be forwarded to the Chief Justice for consideration.

The Governor, acting on the advice of the Chief Minister, is then required to send the recommendation along with all supporting documents to the Ministry of Law and Justice within six weeks of receiving the proposal.

The Centre examines the proposal along with intelligence and background inputs before forwarding it to the Chief Justice of India. The CJI consults the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court before finalising the collegium’s recommendation.

Following these consultations, the CJI sends the recommendation to the Union Law Minister, usually within four weeks. Once the President signs the warrant of appointment, the Department of Justice formally informs the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court and the state’s Chief Minister, and the appointment is subsequently notified in the Gazette of India.

With the collegium’s approval now in place, the recommendations will move to the next stage of processing by the Centre before the formal appointments are notified.

With IANS inputs