SC Collegium Recommends Elevation Of Scheduled Tribe Lawyer Kardak Ete As Judge of Gauhati High Court
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the appointment of senior advocate Kardak Ete for appointment as a Gauhati High Court judge. In a resolution signed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, and two seniormost puisne judges of the top court, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph, the collegium has revealed that the senior counsel, besides being a good addition to the judicial...
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the appointment of senior advocate Kardak Ete for appointment as a Gauhati High Court judge. In a resolution signed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, and two seniormost puisne judges of the top court, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph, the collegium has revealed that the senior counsel, besides being a good addition to the judicial ranks owing 'his own competence and standing at the bar', Ete would bring greater diversity and inclusion to the high court as a member of a Scheduled Tribe. The resolution states:
"The Collegium has considered the opinion of the consultee-judges with regard to his suitability. The report of the Intelligence Bureau indicates that he enjoys a good personal and professional image and nothing adverse has come to notice with regard to integrity. The candidate belongs to a Scheduled Tribe. Besides his own competence and standing at the Bar, the appointment of Shri Kardak Ete will bring greater diversity and inclusion to the High Court."
This recommendation was made on the strength of a December 2022 proposal forwarded by the high court collegium comprising the then-chief justice and two seniormost judges. The resolution also reveals that the chief ministers and governors of the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland have concurred with the recommendation. In order to ascertain the fitness and suitability of the nominee for elevation, the judges of the Supreme Court 'conversant' with the affairs of the Gauhati High Court were consulted, in terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, the collegium has disclosed. Apart from scrutinising and evaluating the material placed on record, the top court also perused the observations made by the justice department with respect to Ete.
At present, the current strength of the Gauhati High Court is 22 against a sanctioned strength of 24, which includes the chief justice and six additional judges. If the government accepts the proposal to elevate Ete, the high court will have only a single vacancy.