Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Permanent Appointment Of Six Additional Judges Of Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Supreme Court Collegium comprising CJI Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph on Monday recommended the names of six Additional Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for appointment as Permanent Judges.

The following Additional Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have been recommended by the Collegium:

(i) Justice Vikas Bahl

(ii) Justice Vikas Suri

(iii) Justice Sandeep Moudgil

(iv) Justice Vinod Sharma (Bhardwaj)

(v) Justice Pankaj Jain

(vi) Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi

On December 19, 2022, the Collegium of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had unanimously recommended the additional judges for appointment as Permanent Judges. Chief Ministers and the Governors of the states of Punjab and Haryana concurred with the recommendation.

The Collegium also consulted the Judges of the Supreme Court who are conversant with the functioning of Punjab and Haryana High Court with a view to ascertain the suitability of the Judges for being appointed as Permanent Judges.

The SCC recommendation further said:

“The Committee constituted in terms of the Resolution dated 26th October, 2017 of the Supreme Court Collegium to evaluate the Judgments of the above-named Additional Judges, has submitted its report. The Judgment Evaluation Committee consisting of two judges of the Supreme Court has noted the judgments of the candidates as Very good (Serial no. i, v and vi), Good (Serial no. ii & iii) and Outstanding (Serial no. iv).”

The Collegium also scrutinized the materials placed on record including the observations made by the Department of Justice and the complaints, and found the judges fit and suitable for being appointed as Permanent Judges.

“Since the current two-year term of one of the Additional Judge is due to expire on 24 May 2023, the above recommendation may be processed expeditiously,” the Collegium said.