Justice Kureshi elevation: give 2 weeks to decide, Centre tells SC

Centre cannot resort to “deliberate inaction” in a recommendation made by Collegium as way back as May 10, says plea

The government on Monday sought from the Supreme Court two weeks to decide on the collegium recommendation to appoint Bombay High Court judge Justice Akil Kureshi as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi that the file was still under consideration and sought a fortnight more.

The court decided to hear the case on August 2 even as senior advocate Fali Nariman, for the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association, 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. The Centre should clarify whether it had sought any 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 [Centre] in not appointing Mr. 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 the 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 Mr. Justice Akil Kureshi”.

Other appointments

The association said 18 other additional judges of different High Courts had been appointed since May 10, but the government had kept its decision on Justice Kureshi pending inexplicably.

In June, the government appointed Justice Ravi Shanker Jha as the Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court even as it gave no word on Justice Kureshi.

“Withholding of advice by the respondent to the President only with respect to recommendation of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Akil Kureshi for appointment as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, amounts to direct participation of Executive in the appointment of Chief Justice that is not countenanced at law,” the petition said.

The association described Justice Kureshi as a judge who commanded “tremendous admiration and respect”. His non-appointment was violative of Articles 14 and 217 of the Constitution and was subversive of the rule of law, it submitted.

The Supreme Court should issue directions to the government to decide on appointments of High Court Chief Justices within six weeks from the collegium’s date of recommendation, it said.