Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Appointment Of A Judicial Officer As Judge Of Chhattisgarh High Court

As per Collegium’s statement, on 02 September 2022, the then Chief Justice of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues made the recommendation.

The Collegium also noted that the constitutional authorities did not give any input so far in respect of the recommendation made by the High Court Collegium, it was to be presumed that they had nothing to add.

“The proposal has been processed by invoking Para 14 of the Memorandum of Procedure which provides that if the comments of the Governor as advised by the Chief Minister are not received within six weeks from the date of receipt of the proposal from the Chief Justice of the High Court, it shall be presumed by the Union Minister of Law and Justice that the constitutional authorities in the State have nothing to add to the proposal and proceed accordingly.”

The Collegium also noted that since, at present, there is no Judge in the Supreme Court conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Chhattisgarh to assist in the process of ascertaining the suitability of the candidate and hence, the collegium, for the purpose of assessing the merit and suitability of the candidate for elevation to the High Court, scrutinized and evaluated the material placed on record.

It noted that the Intelligence Bureau has reported that he enjoys a good personal and professional image and that nothing adverse has come to notice against his integrity.

“Shri Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal is about 58 years of age. On the date of vacancy against which his name has been recommended, his age was 57 years. Department of Justice has not pointed out anything adverse in regard to his suitability for elevation. He belongs to the OBC category. Having regard to these aspects, the Collegium is of the considered opinion that Shri Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal is suitable for appointment as a Judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh,” the Collegium’s statement noted.