Even as judicial appointments have been halted pending the outcome of the NJAC matter in the Supreme Court, Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee has been appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court..According to a release by the Press Information Bureau, Justice Mukherjee was appointed in accordance with the President’s power under Article 223 of the Constitution. The post of Chief Justice has been vacant since Justice Waghela was transferred to the Orissa High Court in April..Justice Mukherjee enrolled as an advocate in 1982. He was elevated to the Calcutta High Court as a Permanent Judge on September 15, 2000. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Karnataka High Court in April 2015..The NJAC Act was notified on April 13, effectively suspending the collegium system and consequently bringing appointments to the higher judiciary to a halt. As highlighted earlier, this has led to a number of vacancies across different High Courts..There was some respite in the form of an extension of tenure for additional judges but precious little else..For the past two weeks from June 8 onwards, a Constitutional Bench has been hearing arguments against the NJAC. This past Monday, senior counsel Anil Diwan took centre stage, arguing that it was imperative that the Executive and the judiciary be kept independent of each other.
Even as judicial appointments have been halted pending the outcome of the NJAC matter in the Supreme Court, Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee has been appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court..According to a release by the Press Information Bureau, Justice Mukherjee was appointed in accordance with the President’s power under Article 223 of the Constitution. The post of Chief Justice has been vacant since Justice Waghela was transferred to the Orissa High Court in April..Justice Mukherjee enrolled as an advocate in 1982. He was elevated to the Calcutta High Court as a Permanent Judge on September 15, 2000. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Karnataka High Court in April 2015..The NJAC Act was notified on April 13, effectively suspending the collegium system and consequently bringing appointments to the higher judiciary to a halt. As highlighted earlier, this has led to a number of vacancies across different High Courts..There was some respite in the form of an extension of tenure for additional judges but precious little else..For the past two weeks from June 8 onwards, a Constitutional Bench has been hearing arguments against the NJAC. This past Monday, senior counsel Anil Diwan took centre stage, arguing that it was imperative that the Executive and the judiciary be kept independent of each other.