After Central government delay, Supreme Court Collegium alters recommendation for 4 High Court Chief Justices

The Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday altered its earlier recommendations with respect to the appointment of Chief Justices (CJs) to four High Courts.

As per the new resolution, alterations have been made with respect to Chief Justices of the High Courts of Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The following judges have now been recommended to the post of the CJ of the above four High Courts:

Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji - Meghalaya High Court;

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait - Madhya Pradesh High Court;

Justice GS Sandhawalia - Himachal Pradesh High Court;

Justice Tashi Rabstan - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

The recommendations in the resolution passed by the Collegium today supersede the recommendations it made in its July 11 resolution.

As per the earlier recommendation, Justice Kait was to take over as CJ of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, Justice Sandhawalia was recommended for Madhya Pradesh High Court and Justice Rabstan for the Meghalaya High Court.

While these three judges have been recommended for other High Courts by the new resolution, Justice Mukerji is a new entrant in the list, having been recommended to take over as CJ of Meghalaya.

The July 11 resolution had recommended Justice Rajiv Shakdher to be appointed as CJ of Himachal Pradesh.

However, since he is due to retire in a month, Justice GS Sandhawalia has been recommended for appointment as CJ of that High Court, upon retirement of Justice Shakdher on October 18.

"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 GS 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," the resolution states.

The new resolution notes that the Collegium's earlier recommendations have been have been pending with the government for over two months.

In its resolution dated July 11, the Collegium had made the following recommendations for the appointment of Chief Justices of various High Courts:

• Justice Manmohan, the current Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, be appointed as Chief Justice of the same High Court;

• Justice Rajiv Shakdher, the second seniormost puisine judge of the Delhi High Court, be appointed as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court;

• 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;

• Justice GS Sandhawalia, seniormost puisne Judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, be appointed as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court;

• Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar, seniormost puisne Judge of the High Court of Bombay, be appointed as Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court;

• Justice Tashi Rabstan, seniormost puisne Judge of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, be appointed as 2 Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court; and

• Justice KR Shriram, second seniormost puisne Judge of the High Court of Bombay, be appointed as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

The new resolution has stated the following with regard to the changes made to the earlier resolution.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait

Instead of being appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Collegium has now recommended that he be appointed as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The Collegium resolution notes that Justice Kait is senior to the seniormost judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva.

Justice Kait was appointed in September 2008. He belongs to the Scheduled Caste category and ranks fifth in the All India Seniority list of High Court Judges, including Chief Justices. He is due to retire on May 23, 2025.

Justice GS Sandhawalia

Instead of being appointed as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Collegium has recommended that he be appointed as the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court after Justice Rajiv Shakdher, whose name was recommended to the post in the July 11 resolution, retires on October 18, 2024.

Justice Tashi Rabstan

Instead of being appointed as Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, the Collegium has recommended that he be appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, where he is currently the seniormost puisine judge.

He was appointed as a judge in March 2013 and is due to retire on April 9, 2025.

Justice 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.

The Collegium resolution also notes that the judge is a Buddhist and belongs to the Bot Scheduled Tribe and that his appointment will bring diversity in the office of Chief Justices of the High Courts.

Apart from altering the recommendations with respect to these three judges, the Collegium has also recommended that instead of Justice Rabstan as stated in the July 11 resolution, Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji be appointed as Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.

Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji

Justice Mukerji was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta High Court in May 2009 and is due to retire on September 5, 2025. He is the seniormost puisne judge of the Calcutta High Court and ranks seventh in the All India Seniority list of High Court Judges, including Chief Justices.

[Read Resolution]