Supreme Court grants relief to two District judges superseded by Himachal Pradesh High Court collegium

The Supreme Court on Friday granted relief to two District Judges from Himachal Pradesh whose candidature for elevation to the Himachal Pradesh High Court was rejected by the High Court collegium [Chirag Bhanu Singh and anr v. State of Himachal Pradesh and ors]..A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra allowed the plea filed by District Judges Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra and asked the High Court collegium to reexamine their candidature in accordance with established norms. The two judges moved the apex court alleging that the High Court collegium overlooked their merit and seniority and superseded them to recommend other judges for elevation as High Court judges.The top court agreed with the petitioners and held that the decision was taken by the Chief Justice alone, and not by the Collegium judges collectively."The procedure adopted in the matter of reconsideration of the two petitioners is found to be inconsistent with the law laid down in the Second Judges (supra) and the Third Judges case(supra). There was no collective consultation and deliberations by the members of the High Court Collegium. The decision of the Chief Justice of the High Court ... appears to be an individual decision. The same therefore stand vitiated both procedurally and substantially," the top court said..The Bench also held that the High Court collegium has to take into account a resolution passed by the Supreme Court collegium on January 4, which had asked the High Court to consider the names of the petitioners."The High Court Collegium should now reconsider the names of Mr. Chirag Bhanu Singh and Mr. Arvind Malhotra for elevation as Judges of the High Court, following the Supreme Court Collegium decision dated 4th January, 2024 and the Law Minister’s letter dated 16th January, 2024. It is ordered accordingly. The matter stands allowed in above terms," the Supreme Court said..The petitioners moved the Court contending that the High Court Collegium overlooked their names despite the Supreme Court collegium resolution of January 4 and a Union Law Ministry endorsement.In this light, the petitioners, the two senior-most district judges in the State, had sought an interim stay of the concerned resolution of the High Court Collegium..The Supreme Court in its decision underscored that the process of judicial appointments is not the prerogative of a single individual."It is a collaborative and participatory process involving all Collegium members. The underlying principle is that the process of appointment of judges must reflect the collective wisdom that draws from diverse perspectives. Such a process ensures that principles of transparency and accountability are maintained."The judgment today parted with a note of caution as regards disclosure of sensitive information."There is also a need to protect certain sensitive information in matters involving appointment of judges. While transparency is necessary to ensure fairness and accountability, it must be carefully balanced with the need to maintain confidentiality. Disclosing sensitive information would compromise not only the privacy of the individual but also the integrity of the process," the Bench said. .Senior Advocate Arvind Datar and advocates Bina Madhavan, S Udaya Kumar Sagar, Shreyasi Kunwar, Shubhangi Arora, Niharika Tanneru, briefed by a team from Lawyer S Knit & Co appeared for the judges.Senior Advocates Dr. S Muralidhar and K Parameshwar along with advocates Kanti, Shreenivas Patil, Chitransha Singh Sikarwar and Raji Gururaj appeared for the Himachal Pradesh High Court..[Read Judgment]