The Jharkhand government approached the Supreme Court, challenging the Centre’s delay in clearing the appointment of a new High Court Chief Justice. The Collegium had recommended Justice MS Ramachandra Rao for the position on July 11, but the Central government has yet to approve the appointment.
New Delhi: The Jharkhand government filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking contempt of court proceedings against the Central government for delaying the approval of the Collegium’s recommendation to appoint Justice MS Ramachandra Rao as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court.
The Collegium recommended Justice Rao’s appointment on July 11, but the approval still pending. Currently, Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad is serving as the Acting Chief Justice.
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The plea argues,
“As per the Memorandum of Procedure outlined by the respondents, an Acting Chief Justice’s tenure should not typically exceed one month.”
The plea highlights,
“The plea has emphasized the undue delay in the approval of the Collegium’s recommendation concerning the previous Chief Justice as well. According to the plea, the Collegium recommended Orissa High Court judge, Justice BR Sarangi, for the position of Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court on December 27, 2023. However, the Central government cleared the appointment only on July 3, 2024, and Justice Sarangi retired just 15 days later, on July 19. As a result, he served as Chief Justice for only a brief period,”
“The Petitioner is gravely concerned with the extraordinary delays in appointing Judges to the Hon’ble High Court of Jharkhand and other Hon’ble High Courts across the country, which undermines the principle of judicial independence.”
According to the plea, the Collegium recommended Justice BR Sarangi, a judge from the Orissa High Court, for the position of Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court as early as December 27, 2023.
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Despite the timely recommendation, the Central government only cleared Justice Sarangi’s appointment on July 3, 2024, several months later. Unfortunately, Justice Sarangi retired just 15 days after his appointment, on July 19, 2024, leaving him with only a brief tenure in the Chief Justice role.
The plea further asserts that while the Collegium acted promptly by making recommendations well in advance, the Central government’s delay in responding has hindered the administration of justice and constitutes a violation of the Supreme Court’s rulings in the Second and Third Judges cases, amounting to a direct threat to the judiciary’s independence.
The petition thus calls for the intervention of the Supreme Court to address what it describes as a direct threat to the constitutional principle of an independent judiciary, a cornerstone of India’s democratic framework.