Appointments Of High Court Chief Justices Likely To Happen Soon : CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday said that appointments of Chief Justices of High Courts as per the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendations are likely to happen very soon. Saying so, the bench led by CJI adjourned the hearing of petitions seeking directions to the Union Government to act expeditiously on Collegium recommendations.

As soon as the matter was taken, CJI told the petitioners' lawyers that the matter could be posted after a week as some appointments are expected in the meanwhile.

"Some appointments are now in the pipeline, we expect it to come very shortly," CJI said. 

1. Justice Manmohan has been proposed to be made the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He is presently the Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court

2. Justice M S Ramachandra Rao(presently Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court) is proposed to be transferred as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.

3. Justice Justice Rajiv Shakdher(Delhi High Court judge) - Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court (in the vacancy which would arise on transfer of Justice Ramachandra Rao to Jharkhand)

4. Justice Suresh Kait(Delhi High Court judge) - Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

5. Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia(Punjab & Haryana High Court Judge) - Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court

6. Justice Nitin Jamdar(Bombay High Court judge) - Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court

7. Justice Tashi Rabstan (J&K&L HC judge) - Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.

8. Justice K R Shriram(Bombay High Court judge) - Chief Justice of the Madras High Court

However, the Collegium on September 17 modified its recommendations as follows-

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait is now recommended to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Earlier, he was recommended as the Chief Justice of J&K&L High Court. 

Justice Tashi Rabstan, who was earlier proposed as the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, is now recommended to be appointed as the Chief Justice of his parent High Court (J&K&L High Court).

Justice G S Sandhawalia, who was earlier proposed as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, is proposed to be appointed as the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court after October 18, 2024 (the date of retirement of Justice Rajiv Shakhder, who was earlier recommended as the CJ of HP HC). 

However, the other recommendations in the July 11 resolution remained unchanged.

The Collegium also made a fresh proposal regarding the appointment of Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji (Calcutta High Court Judge) as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.

Also from today's hearing - Tell Us Why Candidates Reiterated By Collegium Aren't Appointed As Judges : Supreme Court Asks Attorney General