The Supreme Court today allowed the Writ Petition filed by the two senior-most district and Sessions Judges of Himachal Pradesh, alleging their exclusion from elevation as High Court judges.

The Bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra held, "The writ petition is maintainable as it questions the lack of effective consultation. The Chief Justice of the High Court cannot individually reconsider recommendations, and it can only be done by High Court collegium acting collectively."

In light of the above, the Bench pronounced, "The High Court collegium should reconsider the names of Mr. Chirag Banu Singh and Mr. Arvind Malhotra for elevation of judges of the High Court, following the Supreme Court collegium decision dated 04.01.2024 and the Law Ministers letter dated 16.01.2024. It is ordered accordingly. The matter stands allowed in the above terms."

Pertinently, in July, the Court had issued notice in the Writ Petition. The Bench had sought a response from the Registrar General of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The Writ Petition filed through AoR Bina Madhavan and Advocate Uday Sagar stated that, till date, there have been no adverse remarks of any kind against Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra, and they have had an unblemished record of Judicial Service. They have requested the Court to direct the collegium of the Himachal Pradesh High Court to consider their names as per the Supreme Court collegium's January 4th resolution.

"The names of the Petitioners were recommended by the Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh in December 2022. However, pending the same, the names of the ineligible junior officers are being considered for elevation as judges to the Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh," the plea stated.

The plea also stated, "The action of the Respondents in calling for the judgments of the officers junior to the Petitioners amounts to ignoring the seniority of the petitioners and is violative of the Petitioner’s right under Article 14 and Article 16 of the Constitution of India."

The Petitioners prayed, "The entire process adopted by the High Court collegium stands procedurally and substantially vitiated and contrary to established constitutional convention. The action of the Hon’ble Chief Justice and the collegium is therefore liable to set aside." It further seeks appropriate directions to the respondents not to proceed further on the recommendation made by the collegium of the Himachal Pradesh High Court till disposal of the present Writ Petition.

Cause Title: Chirag Bhanu Singh and Anr. v. High Court of Himachal Pradesh And Ors. [W.P.(C) No. 000312/ 2024]

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Justice Hrishikesh RoyJustice Prashant Kumar MishraHimachal Pradesh High CourtHigh Court JudgesTransfer and Elevation

Sukriti Mishra