SC collegium recommends three judicial officers for appointment as HC judges

The terms of the recommendation state, “On 22 December 2022, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues recommended the elevation of the above-named eight Judicial Officers as Judges of the High Court of Delhi. The file was received in the Supreme Court from the Department of Justice on 07 April 2023. In order to ascertain the fitness and suitability of the above-named persons for elevation to the High Court, in terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, Judges of the Supreme Court conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Delhi were consulted.”

On Kathpalia, the recommendation states that the “judgment evaluation committee has graded judgments authored by him as ‘outstanding’”. It notes that he is the senior-most member of the Delhi Higher Judicial Service and that the Intelligence Bureau reported that he has a good personal and professional image and that “nothing adverse has come to notice against his integrity”.

With respect to Sharma, the recommendation states that his name was considered based on inputs of Intelligence Bureau evaluated in conjunction with the opinion of consultee judges who observed his conduct and work performance.

On Jain, the recommendation states that the Intelligence Bureau reported that he has a good personal and professional image and “nothing adverse has come to notice against his integrity”.

“In view of the above, the Collegium resolves to recommend that S/Shri Girish Kathpalia, Dharmesh Sharma, and Manoj Jain, Judicial Officers, be appointed as Judges of the High Court of Delhi. Their inter se seniority be fixed as per the existing practice,” the collegium said.