Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Elevation Of One Judicial Officer As Jharkhand High Court Judge

On Thursday, the Supreme Court collegium recommended the appointment of Arun Kumar Rai, a judicial officer, as a judge of the Jharkhand High Court. The recommendation, originally made by the Jharkhand High Court collegium in September of the previous year, underwent scrutiny by the only consulting judge in the Supreme Court familiar with Jharkhand High Court matters. The candidate's suitability was assessed, considering all the relevant material, including the report from the Judgment Assessment Committee.

According to the resolution, the Judgment Evaluation Committee, formed by the Chief Justice of the High Court, rated Rai's authored judgments as 'Very Good.' The resolution also acknowledged that the proposal involved the non-recommendation of two senior judicial officers, with the High Court Collegium providing cogent reasons for their exclusion. The Supreme Court Collegium expressed agreement with the High Court Collegium's decision to overlook these two officers.

As of January 1, the Jharkhand High Court operates with 18 judges, which is below its sanctioned strength of 25 judges.

Click here to read the resolution