SC collegium recommends appointment of additional HC judge as permanent judge in Chhattisgarh HC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday recommended to the Centre the name of Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey for appointment as a permanent judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court.

According to the resolutions uploaded on the apex court website, the collegium also recommended the names of justices Sachin Singh Rajput and Radhakishan Agrawal for appointment as additional judges of the Chhattisgarh High Court.

Another uploaded resolution said the collegium, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, has recommended that Additional Judge Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal be appointed as additional judge for a fresh term of one year.

On November 22, 2023, the collegium of the High Court of Chhattisgarh unanimously made the above recommendation for the appointment of Additional Judge Justice Pandey as a permanent judge of that high court and for further extension of the present term of Justice Rajput and Justice Agrawal.

"We have duly taken note of the views of the Chief Minister and the Governor of the State of Chhattisgarh in terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, the Judge of the Supreme Court who is conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Chhattisgarh was consulted with a view to ascertain the suitability of one of the above Additional Judges for appointment as permanent Judge and for appointment of the other two as Additional Judges for a fresh term.

"The Committee of two Judges of the Supreme Court constituted by the Chief Justice of India in terms of the Resolution dated October 26, 2017 of the Supreme Court Collegium assessed the judgments of the above Additional Judges," the collegium said.

The collegium scrutinised and evaluated the material placed on record to assess the merit and suitability of the names above.

"Having considered all aspects of the matter and on an overall consideration of the above proposal, the collegium is of the view that Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey, Additional Judge, is fit and suitable for being appointed as permanent Judge and that Justice Sachin Singh Rajput and Justice Radhakishan Agrawal deserve to be appointed for a fresh term as recommended by the collegium of the High Court," it said.

With regard to Justice Nargal's extension, the collegium said it consulted the judges of the Supreme Court who are conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

"A Committee of two judges of the Supreme Court constituted by the Chief Justice of India in terms of the Resolution dated October 26, 2017, of the Supreme Court Collegium has assessed the judgments of Mr Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal. The Committee has rated the quality of his judgments as 'good'...

"In view of the above, the Collegium resolves to recommend that Mr Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal, Additional Judge, be appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for a fresh term of one year with effect from June 3, 2024," the collegium said.