SC collegium clears 5 judges for Karnataka HC

The Supreme Court collegium led by the Chief Justice of India has recommended names of five advocates for appointment as judges in the Karnataka High Court. It brushed aside "disagreements" shown by the chief minister and Governor over the names.

The decision is expected to ease some pressure on the high court's judges, as 37 posts of judges out of 62 sanctioned positions were lying vacant.

Of the 10 names sent by the Karnataka High Court's collegium comprising the Chief Justice and two senior-most judges, the apex court's collegium recommended names of Dixit Krishna Shripad, Shankar Ganapathi Pandit, Ramakrishna Devdas, Bhotanhosur Mallikarjuna Shyam Prasad, and Siddappa Sunil Dutt Yadav. Once approved by the Union government, the warrant for their appointment as additional judges will be issued from the President's office.

However, the Supreme Court collegium, also comprising Justices J Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi, however, remitted back the names of four advocates for fresh consideration by the present high court collegium on their suitability for appointment as judges.

Those whose recommendations were returned are Gurudas Shyamrao Kannur, Kuloor Arvind Kamath, Kanakatte Narayana Phanindra and Maheshan Nagaprasanna.

"Having regard to the material on record, we are of the view that the proposal for their elevation deserves to be remitted to the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court for fresh consideration by the present collegium," the Supreme Court collegium stated in its note.

Among the 10 advocates recommended by the high court on January 13 for the appointment, advocate Kasaravalli Chythanya Keshavamurthy was not found “suitable for elevation” in view of “material on record”.

Notably, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has “conveyed his disagreements” with the 10 names selected by the high court’s collegium. The Governor, without specifying names, has conveyed that some of the candidates do not meet “requirement of efficiency in their performance”. The chief minister has also flagged representations received from advocates’ bodies that the recommendations do not provide an opportunity to the cross-section of society for being on the bench of the high court.

“Since the high court collegium has already looked into and tested merit of such representations, need for any further examination thereof stands obviated,” the Supreme Court collegium said.

The Supreme Court collegium agreed with the Governor’s view that the persons recommended may be appointed only after a thorough objective assessment of their performance and integrity.

However, it said, “Assessment of performance of the persons recommended is done objectively by the judiciary at the high court and Supreme Court level; and as far as integrity, character and conduct etc are concerned, Intelligence Bureau, on verification, has reported that the recommendees enjoy a good personal and professional image and nothing adverse has come to the notice against their integrity.”

The collegium also took into consideration opinions from other Supreme Court judges, aware of the Karnataka high court’s affairs, to recommend the names to the government for appointment as judges. It also recommended Justice Narendar G, additional Judge, for appointment as permanent judge of the Karnataka High Court.

Besides, nine advocates’ names were cleared for appointment in the Madras High Court and five others for Calcutta High Court.