SC collegium recommends appointment of chief justices of 5 high courts

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday recommended the appointment of the chief justices of high courts of Calcutta, Gujarat, Allahabad, Chhattisgarh and Manipur.

The three-member collegium also comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph has recommended the name of Justice TS Sivagnanam as the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court.

Justice Sivagnanam is currently a judge in the Calcutta High Court and his parent high court is Madras.

The collegium resolution said, "The office of the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court would be falling vacant on March 30, 2023, consequent upon the retirement of Justice Prakash Shrivastava. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made".

It said that in anticipation of the retirement of Justice Shrivastava, the Collegium has decided to recommend Justice Sivagnanam, the senior-most judge of the Calcutta High Court for appointment as chief of that high court.

Justice Sivagnanam was appointed as a judge on March 31, 2009, and is scheduled to retire on September 15, 2025.

The resolution said that apart from this, the period which has been served by Justice Sivagnanam as a judge of the Calcutta High Court would provide useful experience in his work as the chief justice of that high court.

"Having regard to all relevant factors, the collegium is of the considered view that Justice T S Sivagnanam is fit and suitable in all respects for being appointed as the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court. The collegium, therefore, resolves to recommend the appointment of Justice T S Sivagnanam as the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, on the retirement of Justice Prakash Shrivastava," it said.

Similarly, the collegium in its meeting held on Thursday appointed Justice Sonia G Gokani as the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court.

The collegium said that by its resolution dated January 31, 2023, it had recommended the elevation of Justice Aravind Kumar who is at present the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court, as a judge of the Supreme Court.

The resolution said, "A vacancy shall occur in the office of the chief justice of the High Court of Gujarat which needs to be filled up. Justice Sonia G Gokani is the senior most Judge of the High Court of Gujarat".

Justice Gokani was appointed as judge on February 17, 2011, and is due to demit office on February 25, 2023.

It said that Justice Gokani has been elevated to the high court from the Gujarat judicial services and besides being the senior-most Judge, the appointment of Justice Gokani as chief justice will bring a sense of inclusion and facilitate a representation for judges drawn from the services in the office of chief justice.

It said, "The collegium, therefore, resolves that Justice Sonia G Gokani be appointed as the chief justice of the High Court of Gujarat immediately on the elevation of Justice Aravind Kumar as a judge of the Supreme Court. The recommendation should be processed on priority since she is due to retire on February 25, 2023".

The collegium also recommended appointment of Justice Pritinker Diwaker as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.

It said that by its resolution dated January 31, 2023, the collegium has recommended the elevation of Justice Rajesh Bindal, presently the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court, as a judge of the Supreme Court.

"The office of the chief justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad would be falling vacant, consequent upon the elevation of Justice Rajesh Bindal to the Supreme Court of India. Therefore, an appointment to that office is required to be made," it said.

The resolution said, "The collegium, therefore, resolves to recommend the appointment of Justice Pritinker Diwaker as the chief justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, after elevation of Justice Rajesh Bindal to the Supreme Court".

The collegium also recommended Justice Ramesh Sinha who is serving as judge of the Allahabad High Court as the chief justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.

The office of the chief justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court would be falling vacant on March 10, 2023, consequent upon retirement of Justice Arup Kumar Goswami.

"Therefore, an appointment to that office is required to be made. The collegium resolves to make its recommendation in anticipation of the vacancy which will occur in a month", it said.

It said that the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the largest high court in the country and, after the elevation of Justice Pankaj Mithal to the Supreme Court, it does not have any representation among the chief justices of the high courts.

"The collegium, therefore, resolves to recommend that Justice Ramesh Sinha be appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, after the retirement of Justice Arup Kumar Goswami on March 10, 2023", it said.

The three-member collegium further recommended Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur, Judge of the Bombay High Court as the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court.

It said that the office of the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court has fallen vacant recently consequent upon the elevation of Justice P V Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court and therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made.

The collegium said that the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh does not have representation among the Chief Justices of the High Courts since the retirement of Justice A M Magrey and over a long period of time no Judge of Jammu and Kashmir origin has been elevated as chief justice of a High Court or as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.

"The collegium, therefore, resolves to recommend the appointment of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur as the chief justice of the High Court of Manipur”, it said.