SC Collegium Recommends Names Of Five Judicial Officers And Two Advocates As Judges Of Gujarat High Court

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of five Judicial Officers and two advocates as Judges in the Gujarat High Court.

In two separate resolutions 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 following names have been recommended:

(1) Susan Valentine Pinto (Judicial Officer)

(2) Hasmukhbhai Dalsukhbhai Suthar (Judicial Officer)

(3) Jitendra Champaklal Doshi (Judicial Officer)

(4) Mangesh Rameshchandra Mengdey (Judicial Officer), 

(5) Divyeshkumar Amrutlal Joshi, (Judicial Officer)

(6) Devan Mahendrabhai Desai (Advocate), and

(7) Moxa Kiran Thakker (Advocate)

In its resolution dated March 2, recommending the elevation of 5 Judicial Officers, the Supreme Court Collegium considered (i) the report of the Judgment Committee of the High Court which has assessed the judgments of the candidates under consideration; (ii) the report of the Intelligence Bureau; and (iii) the opinion of the consultee-judges with regard to the suitability of the officers.

The Collegium's statement also states that all the recommendees are experienced Judicial Officers and nothing adverse to their integrity has been placed on record.

All the recommendations have been made on the strength of the September 2022 proposal of the Gujarat HC Collegium comprising of the then Chief Justice and two senior-most Judges unanimously. The Chief Minister and the Governor of the State of Gujarat have concurred with the recommendation.

The SC Collegium also scrutinized and evaluated the material placed on record, including the inputs furnished by the Intelligence Bureau and the observations made by the Department of Justice in the file.

Significantly, while considering the proposal to appoint 5 judicial officers as HC Judges, the Collegium has also taken note of the fact that the proposal involves the non-recommendation of two senior Judicial Officers.

"In this regard, we find that the High Court Collegium, has duly recorded reasons for not recommending the names of those Judicial Officers. We are in agreement with the justification given by the High Court Collegium in its Minutes for not recommending the senior Judicial Officers," the statement of the SC collegium reads.

On the other hand, while recommending the name of Advocate Devan Mahendrabhai Desai as a Gujarat HC Judge, the SC Collegium noted that he practices predominantly in the City Civil Court at Ahmedabad and his experience at the Bar in handling cases at the trial level before the City Civil Court would be an asset particularly in dealing with civil and commercial work in the High Court of Gujarat.

While recommending Advocate Moxa Thakker's name, the SC Collegium stressed that she is a competent lawyer with practice both on the civil and criminal sides and that she has been able to overcome her own physical disabilities and her appointment would bring greater inclusion to the composition of the High Court.

The Collegium also noted that the IB has opined that they both enjoy a good personal and professional image and nothing adverse has come to notice with regard to their integrity.

Click Here To Read Download SC Collegium Statement (Judicial Officers)

Click Here To Read Download SC Collegium Statement (Advocates)