Kerala AG Slams Centre for Interfering in Collegium's Judicial Appointments

Kerala AG Slams Centre for Interfering in Collegium's Judicial Appointments

Kerala Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup on Wednesday criticized the Central government's persistent interference with the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendations for appointing judges to constitutional courts, especially the High Courts.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for five additional judges at the Kerala High Court, the AG specifically highlighted the delayed appointment of judicial officer PP Krishna Kumar, who was among the five sworn in as High Court judges today.

"One among the Lords, Justice PP Krishna Kumar, would have been sworn in exactly a year ago on 25.10.2023, had it not been for the much-criticized executive tinkering with the collegium decision," Kurup said.

He then highlighted the recurring delays in appointments to the constitutional courts.

"Though a cliche, I may say, 'better late than never', for we have manifold instances of repeatedly reiterated recommendations (by) the Supreme Court Collegium regarding appointments to constitutional courts gathering dust at the annals of the Union Executive for no tenable reason," Kurup remarked.

Kurup has consistently voiced concerns regarding the government's alleged interference in judicial appointments. In October of last year, he objected to the Central government selectively approving names put forth by the Supreme Court Collegium for High Court judge appointments. In April this year, he criticized the government's delay in notifying the appointments of judges recommended for elevation by the Collegium. Advocate Yeshwanth Shenoy, President of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association, also addressed this issue during the ceremony today.
 
"Nothing can be more demoralizing than waiting for a warrant of appointment once the Collegium has made the recommendation. The Kerala High Court Advocates Association had taken up the issue with the law minister and we are happy that he obliged the bar," Shenoy said.
 
On October 10, 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Justice Kumar's name, along with four other judicial officers, for elevation to the High Court.
 
"The assessment made by the Government of India in the file does not indicate anything adverse to the integrity or reputation of the officer. The Collegium has also had due regard to the track record of the officer. The Collegium has duly considered the observations made by the Government of India on the file. While it is correct that the officer has completed 10 years of qualifying service recently, the Collegium also notes that since he was a direct recruit to the Higher Judicial Service, he would also have experience as an advocate prior to his appointment as a judicial officer," the Collegium had said then.
 
However, the Centre did not approve Kumar's name, prompting the Supreme Court Collegium to reiterate its recommendation when it recently passed a resolution to appoint four additional judicial officers as High Court judges.
 
"By recommendation dated 10 October 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended names of five Judicial Officers including the name of Shri P Krishna Kumar for elevation as Judges of the High Court of Kerala. Out of these, four Judicial Officers have been appointed. However, nothing has been intimated by the Government to the Collegium with regard to the status of Shri P Krishna Kumar," the Collegium said on October 15.
 
The Collegium stated that Kumar would rank above the four other judicial officers in seniority when the appointments were finalized, a stipulation that the Centre has now upheld.

While his recommendation was pending, Kumar served as the Registrar General (RG) of the High Court. Notably, in this role, he was responsible for reading out the appointment letters of the other judges who were recommended for elevation through the same resolution in which he was first proposed by the Collegium in 2023.

 

 

 
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