Yesterday, Supreme Court collegium recommended the appointment of judicial officer Vimal Kanaiyalal Vyas as a judge of the Gujarat High Court.

The resolution passed in this regard by the collegium stated that the judicial officer was recommended for elevation in February this year by the Chief Justice and two senior-most judges of the Gujarat High Court.

The Supreme Court collegium then consulted with fellow judges well versed in the affairs of the Gujarat High Court and scrutinised all the material placed on record, including the report of the Judgment Assessment Committee.

The resolution points out that the Chief Minister and Governor of Gujarat did not provide their views on the proposal within the required six-week timeframe from when it was received from the Chief Justice of the High Court. According to the memorandum of procedure, this absence of input from the Governor and Chief Minister should lead the Minister of Law and Justice to assume that they have no additional comments or contributions to make, and consequently, take appropriate action accordingly.

The resolution notes that the Chief Minister and Governor of Gujarat did not provide their input within the prescribed six-week timeframe from the date they received the proposal from the Chief Justice of the High Court. In line with the established memorandum of procedure, the Minister of Law and Justice should consider this lack of response as an indication that the Governor and Chief Minister do not have any additional contributions to make to the proposal, and should proceed accordingly.

The views of the CM and Governor of Gujarat were not included in the file within the designated six-week timeframe from the date when the proposal was received from the Chief Justice of the High Court.