CHIEF JUSTICE of India D Y Chandrachud on Thursday conveyed to Attorney General R Venkataramani that the Jharkhand government has filed a contempt petition against the Centre alleging delay in clearing the recommendation of SC Collegium for appointing a new Chief Justice to its High Court. The CJI said this as Venkataramani sought another week’s time to respond to a PIL that sought a “fixed time limit” for the Centre to notify the appointment of judges recommended by the Collegium. The senior law officer pointed out that the matter is listed for hearing on Friday and urged the bench to take it up a week later, saying he will be able to “come back with something” by then. However, the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said Friday’s cause list is already published and the AG can make a request for more time in the morning. In its plea, Jharkhand said, “The Chief Justice is the head of the judicial family in the state. Regularly appointed Chief Justice is essential for the efficient administration of justice and functioning of the judiciary. Unreasonable delays in matters of appointments, after recommendations have been made by the Collegium headed by the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, are detrimental to the administration of justice in the state.” On July 11, the Collegium recommended the transfer of Justice M S Ramachandra Rao, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh HC, to the Jharkhand HC as the Chief Justice. The Collegium also recommended the appointment of Chief Justices of seven more HCs. On September 17, the Collegium tweaked the list, changing three of the proposed names, noting that its July 11 recommendations “have been pending with the government since then”. The Collegium said it had made the new recommendations “on reconsideration, after taking into account all relevant factors and in supersession of the earlier recommendations”.
