Chirag Bhanu Singh, Arvind Malhotra were to be elevated in January
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Himachal Pradesh High Court collegium to reconsider the elevation of two senior-most district and sessions judges to the high court. The top court emphasised that the Chief Justice of the high court could not unilaterally review a recommendation, and that it must be done collectively by the high court collegium.
The verdict was delivered by a bench comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra in response to a plea filed by the two senior judges, who argued that their merit and seniority were overlooked by the high court collegium during the selection process for judgeship.
“There was no joint consultation or deliberation by the members of the high court collegium,” the bench noted in its judgment. It further instructed the collegium to review the candidature of Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra for high court elevation, in line with the Supreme Court collegium’s decision dated January 4, 2024.
During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel highlighted the January 4 Supreme Court collegium resolution and a subsequent communication from the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, arguing that the high court should have duly considered their names.
