< img src ="https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-123534861,imgsize-9890,width-400,resizemode-4/123534861.jpg" alt="Elevating Patna HC CJ will be counter-productive: SC judge" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high">
New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice B V Nagarathna has actually highly dissented versus the collegium’s choice to raise Patna high court chief justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi to the leading court, stating the relocation would be “counter-productive” to the judiciary.The five-member collegium, making up CJI B R Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J K Maheshwari and Nagarathna, had on Aug 25 advised names of Bombay HC chief justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Pancholi for elevation as SC judges. Justice Pancholi, if designated, would remain in line to end up being CJI in Oct 2031 after Justice Joymalya Bagchi’s retirement.Justice Nagarathna, the sole lady judge in SC, opposed the relocation pointing out Pancholi’s lower seniority and scenarios surrounding his transfer from Gujarat HC to Patna HC in July 2023.
She kept in mind that the transfer was “not a routine one, but a carefully considered decision taken after consultation with several senior judges, all of whom concurred”According to sources, she likewise highlighted issues about local representation in SC and alerted that going on with Pancholi’s elevation might deteriorate “whatever credibility collegium system still holds”Her dissent apparently traces back to May when Pancholi’s name was initially thought about.
At that phase, Justice N V Anjaria rose ahead of him. When Pancholi’s name resurfaced 3 months later on, Nagarathna tape-recorded her dissent.The advancement has actually activated sharp responses outside the court. NGO Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) released a declaration stating the August 25 resolution “makes a mockery of the earlier standards of transparency in judicial appointments”
It kept in mind that the collegium had actually taken a 4-1 split choice in advising Pancholi and questioned why he was picked in spite of being just 57th in the all-India seniority list of HC judges.The CJAR declaration likewise mentioned that Pancholi would be the 3rd judge from Gujarat to be raised to Supreme Court, which it stated was “disproportionate to the size of Gujarat HC” while a number of other HCs stay unrepresented.Justice Nagarathna’s dissent, the very first versus a proposed CJI-designate over the last few years, has as soon as again brought the collegium system and its trustworthiness under sharp public focus. PTI