The Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association has termed a Supreme Court Bar Association proposal for elevation of 48 apex court advocates as high court judges as something “worth putting in the trash can”.
The Supreme Court Bar Association had recommended 48 ‘Advocate on Record’ Supreme Court advocates for recruitment as judges in high courts across the country, describing them as “more meritorious than high court advocates”’.
Three of the advocates had also been recommended for appointment as judges of the Uttarakhand High Court. However, addressing a press conference on the high court premises on Sunday, Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association President Avtar Singh Rawat termed the Supreme Court Bar Association’s proposal as a “joke, something “ridiculous” and worth throwing into the trash can. He said such assertions cannot be substantiated since the advocates who do not belong to Uttarakhand and have not practised law in the Uttarakhand High Court cannot be expected to know about traditional laws and social system of the State.
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Even otherwise, in 1993 a collegium of judges of the high courts and Supreme Court were given the right to identify qualified advocates to be elevated as judges. Therefore, any such recommendation has no legal validity, Mr. Rawat said.