VERDICTUM.
IN
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Re: Appointment of Chief Justices of High Courts of Delhi,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras and Meghalaya.
By its resolution dated 11 July 2024, this Collegium had resolved that:
(i) Mr Justice Manmohan, Acting Chief Justice of the High Court
of Delhi, be appointed as Chief Justice of that High Court;
(ii) Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher, second seniormost puisne Judge of
the High Court of Delhi, be appointed as Chief Justice of the
High Court of Himachal Pradesh in the vacancy caused by the
proposal to transfer Mr Justice M S Ramachandra Rao to the
High Court of Jharkhand;
(iii) Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, senior puisne Judge of the High
Court of Delhi, be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court
of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh;
(iv) Mr Justice G S Sandhawalia, seniormost puisne Judge of the
High Court of Punjab and Haryana, be appointed as Chief
Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh;
(v) Mr Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar, seniormost puisne Judge of
the High Court of Bombay, be appointed as Chief Justice of the
High Court of Kerala;
(vi) Mr Justice Tashi Rabstan, seniormost puisne Judge of the High
Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, be appointed as
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Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya on the retirement
of the Chief Justice of that High Court on 16 August 2024; and
(vii) Mr Justice K R Shriram, second seniormost puisne Judge of the
High Court of Bombay, be appointed as Chief Justice of the
High Court of Madras.
The above recommendations have been pending with the Government
since then.
On reconsideration, after taking into consideration all relevant factors
and in supersession of the earlier recommendations as regards the
proposals in respect of Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, Mr Justice G S
Sandhawalia and Mr Justice Tashi Rabstan at Serial Nos (iii), (iv) and
(vi) above, the Collegium resolves to recommend the following:
(i) Mr Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji was appointed as a Judge of
the High Court at Calcutta on 18 May 2009 and is due to retire on 5
September 2025. He is the seniormost puisne Judge of the High
Court at Calcutta and ranks at Serial No 7 in the All India Seniority
list of High Court Judges, including Chief Justices. The Collegium
recommends that Mr Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji be appointed as
Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya. While recommending
his name, the Collegium is conscious of the fact that the High Court at
Calcutta is represented by a Judge in the Supreme Court of India and a
Chief Justice among the Chief Justices of the High Courts.
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(ii) The Supreme Court Collegium had earlier recommended that
Mr Justice Tashi Rabstan be appointed as Chief Justice of the High
Court of Meghalaya on the retirement of the Chief Justice of that High
Court on 16 August 2024.
Mr Justice Tashi Rabstan is the seniormost puisne Judge of the High
Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He was appointed as a
Judge on 8 March 2013 and is due to retire on 9 April 2025.
In terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, since Mr Justice Tashi
Rabstan has less than one year to retire, he can be appointed as the
Chief Justice of his parent High Court.
Mr Justice Tashi Rabstan belongs to Ladakh and would be the first
Chief Justice from the region of Ladakh which has otherwise little or
no representation among the Judges of the High Courts and no
representation at all so far in the office of Chief Justice. Besides
belonging to Ladakh, he is a Buddhist and belongs to the Bot
Scheduled Tribe and his appointment will bring diversity in the office
of Chief Justices of the High Courts.
The Collegium, therefore, in supersession of its earlier
recommendation made on 11 July 2024, recommends that Mr Justice
Tashi Rabstan be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
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(iii) Since Mr Justice Tashi Rabstan is now being recommended for
appointment as Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
and Ladakh, the Collegium proposes that Mr Justice Suresh Kumar
Kait be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya
Pradesh.
Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait is the senior puisne Judge of the High
Court of Delhi, who was appointed on 5 September 2008. He belongs
to the Scheduled Caste category. Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait ranks
at Serial No 5 in the All India Seniority list of High Court Judges,
including Chief Justices. He is due to retire on 23 May 2025. He is
senior to the seniormost Judge in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh,
namely, Mr Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Acting Chief Justice of that
High Court.
The Collegium, therefore, in supersession of its earlier
recommendation made on 11 July 2024, recommends that Mr Justice
Suresh Kumar Kait be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of
Madhya Pradesh.
(iv) Mr Justice G S Sandhawalia is the seniormost puisne Judge of
the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. He was appointed as a Judge
of that High Court on 30 September 2011.
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Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher has been proposed to be appointed as the
Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on the transfer of
Mr Justice M S Ramachandra Rao, Chief Justice of that High Court.
Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher is due to retire on 18 October 2024. The
Collegium, therefore, in supersession of its earlier recommendation
made on 11 July 2024, recommends that Mr Justice G S Sandhawalia
be appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal
Pradesh on the retirement of Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher on 18 October
2024.
This resolution will not affect the recommendations made in terms of
the Minutes dated 11 July 2024 as regards the proposals in respect of
Mr Justice Manmohan, Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdher, Mr Justice Nitin
Madhukar Jamdar and Mr Justice K R Shriram at Serial Nos (i), (ii),
(v) and (vii) mentioned in the first paragraph of this resolution.
(Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud), CJI
(Sanjiv Khanna), J
(B R Gavai), J
17 September 2024
