Three months after being sent her recommendations, the Centre has finally acted upon the Collegium’s recommendation to appoint senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge in the Supreme Court.
Three months after being sent her recommendations, the Centre has finally acted upon the Collegium’s recommendation to appoint senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge in the Supreme Court.
According to a report in News 18, the Modi govt has forwarded her file to the Intelligence Bureau to verify her credentials.
However, Justice Joseph’s – the Uttarakhand High Court chief justice – file hasn’t been forwarded yet. His name is still under consideration.
This move comes after the fact that on April 9, SC Justice Kurian Joseph, one of the four justices to hold a press conference, had written a letter to the CJI that the judiciary’s ‘dignity, honour and respect’ were on the line.
On April 9, Justice Kurian Joseph wrote a strongly-worded letter to the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra saying the ‘life and existence’ of the SC was under threat.
He was referring to the collegium’s decision in February to recommend the names of senior advocate Indu Malhotra and Justice KM Joseph, Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, for appointment as judges to the SC.
Justice Kurian Joseph wrote, according to report in The Indian Express: “It is the first time in the history of this court where nothing is known as to what has happened to a recommendation after three months.”
Demanding urgent intervention, he wrote to the CJI: “If there is no normal delivery on completion of the gestation period, what is urgently done is a Caesarean section. Unless such a surgical intervention is made at an appropriate time, the child in the womb dies.”
Part of the collegium that recommends names for elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Joseph warned that the ‘dignity, honour and respect of SC is going down day by day’.
The letter stated that the government ought to take a call on the recommendation as soon as the name is sent, and failure to discharge their duty by sitting over the recommendation, calling it ‘in administrative law, an abuse of power’.
In April 2016, Justice KM Joseph had ruled against the Centre in the case of imposing President’ rule in Uttarkhand. The Centre, can in effect, return both names to the Collegium, but it would be required to issue the warrants of the appointment if the Collegium sends the same names back.
The collegium consists of CJI Misra, Justices Chelameswar, R Gogoi, M Lokur and Joseph.
Earlier, Law Ministry sources told DNA that there was no move to send back names of both candidates.
Sources within the Law Ministry have clarified with DNA that there is "no move" to send back names of Senior Advocate Indu Malhotra and Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph, the two recommendations proposed by the Supreme Court collegium for elevation to the top court.
However, Law Ministry sources told DNA, "There is no move to send back to SC collegium two names recommended for SC on Jan 10. Reports in this regard are incorrect. Names are still being processed."
On February 2018, the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association (KHCAA) expressed "deep concern and anxiety" over the delay in the elevation of Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court. They wrote to the Centre asking it to send the collegium's recommendation to the President for his approval at the earliest.
"Justice KM Joseph is known for his integrity, honesty, knowledge in law and independent discharge of his judicial functions. He has discharged his duties as a judge, in letter and spirit of the oath he had taken. Such qualities cannot become a taboo for the appointment of anyone as a judge," the resolution read.
The resolution says: "No judge should suffer the consequences of being honest and fearless in the discharge of their duties. The delay in forwarding the name of Justice Joseph is sending a wrong signal to the institution."
On January 10, the apex court collegium comprising the top five senior most judges, had recommended Justice Joseph and senior advocate Indu Malhotra for elevation to the SC. However, after more than a month, the delay in finalising the appointment suggests that the Law Ministry may return the file to the collegium. The Centre may mull over Justice Joseph's lack of seniority, though data suggests that there are over 45 HC judges who are senior to Justice Deepak Gupta.
The Narendra Modi-led government may also be wary of Justice Joseph, who was a part of the bench that had quashed the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand in 2016 paving way for Congress's Harish Rawat to reform his government.
The Supreme Court Collegium - comprising the top five senior-most judges - forward names to the Law Ministry for their consideration. Led by the Chief Justice of India Dipak, the other four members are the next senior most judges - Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph. The candidates are chosen on various parameters that are etched out in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP).
With inputs from PTI
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