Lawyer who fought Karnataka polls: SC ponders pulling out Nagendra Naik name for HC bench

Naik’s nomination, first recommended by the SC Collegium headed by then CJI S A Bobde on October 3, 2019, has been reiterated on March 2, 2021, September 1, 2021 and on January 10 this year.

Lawyer who fought polls: SC ponders pulling out Naik name for HC bench

Advocate Nagendra Naik,. (Image source/Twitter)

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Following his decision to contest the Karnataka Assembly elections on a JD(S) ticket, the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud is considering a recall of its decision recommending advocate Nagendra Naik for appointment as judge of Karnataka High Court, The Indian Express has learnt.

Sources said CJI Chandrachud has sought clarification on whether Naik had informed the High Court or the SC about his decision before contesting the elections since his recommendation is pending with the government.

They said the development was “embarrassing” for the Collegium, which had named Naik for judgeship on four occasions.

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Naik’s nomination, first recommended by the SC Collegium headed by then CJI S A Bobde on October 3, 2019, has been reiterated on March 2, 2021, September 1, 2021 and on January 10 this year.

Naik told The Indian Express that he had not informed the Collegium since he did not think prior political affiliation would be a bar against appointment. “I did not inform or take permission because both the Supreme Court Collegium and the Law Minister had said in the case of Justice Victoria Gowri that political affiliation is not a bar against appointment as a judge,” he said.

The Indian Express had reported on May 15 that Naik had unsuccessfully contested the May 10 Assembly polls from Bhatkal seat on a JD(S) ticket. Naik also said that he decided to contest a month before the polls after realising that the proposal for his appointment as a judge, pending for over four years, had reached “a dead end.”

A graduate from Dayanand Sagar Law College in Bengaluru, Naik has served as an advocate since 1993. He gained prominence as a defence lawyer in anti-corruption cases and regularly appears before CBI courts.

Apurva Vishwanath

Apurva Vishwanath is the National Legal Editor of The Indian Express in New Delhi. She graduated with a B.A., LL. B (Hons) from Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow. She joined the newspaper in 2019 and in her current role, oversees the newspapers coverage of legal issues. She also closely tracks judicial appointments. Prior to her role at the Indian Express, she has worked with ThePrint and Mint. ... Read More

Ananthakrishnan G

Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More

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