Will decide on Justice Kureshi elevation in a week, Centre tells SC

Source: thehindu.com

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Friday informed the Supreme Court that the government will take a call on the appointment of Justice Akil Kureshi as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court in a week and place its decision before the apex court Collegium.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said a date would be fixed on the administrative side for a hearing in the case next week.

Earlier in August, the government had sought time till the end of the Parliament session to decide on the Collegium recommendation of Justice Kureshi.

The hearing is based on a petition filed by the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association.

The previous hearings had seen senior advocate Fali Nariman, who represented the association, criticise the unexplained delay from the government in taking a call on Justice Kureshi.

Mr. Nariman had said the government should act as a “distinguished communicator” and could not resort to what seemed “deliberate inaction” in a recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium as way back as May 10. Mr. Nariman had said the Centre should clarify whether it had even sought a feedback from the Madhya Pradesh government.

The association alleged that Justice Kureshi’s elevation was singled out for uncertainty while those of other judges, who were recommended along with him, had sailed through.

“The deliberate inaction of the respondent (the Centre) in not appointing Justice Akil Kureshi as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court impinges and diminishes the primacy of the judiciary in the matters of appointment and transfer of judges to High Court and Supreme Court,” the petition filed by the association through its president and senior advocate Yatin Oza submitted.

It said the May 10 recommendation was made by the Collegium in accordance with the law laid down in the Second Judges Case and Memorandum of Procedure for judicial appointments and transfers. It said the “recommendation is rendered moot by the arbitrary inaction by the respondent in withholding the appointment of Justice Akil Kureshi”.

The association has submitted that the delay in the appointment of the High Court judge was violative of Articles 14 and 217 of the Constitution of India and subversive of the rule of law.

The association said the court should issue directions to the government to decide on appointments of High Court Chief Justices within a period of six weeks from the Collegium’s date of recommendation.