Today, On 6th September, The Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether Collegium decisions can be subject to judicial scrutiny while granting relief to two District Judges whose elevation to the Himachal Pradesh High Court had been denied by the Collegium.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that limited judicial scrutiny of Collegium decisions is allowed to ensure that such decisions made following proper and collective consultation among its members.
A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra clarified that a plea seeking to review a High Court Collegium’s decision is valid, as consultation among all Collegium members is a procedural necessity.
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The Court stated,
“This scrutiny has nothing to do with the ‘merits’ or ‘suitability’ of the officers in question but is to verify whether ‘effective consultation’ was made. Such scrutiny is permissible within the limited scope of judicial review,”
The Bench outlined key legal principles derived from previous rulings on the issue:
- Lack of effective consultation and eligibility are subject to judicial review.
- Suitability is non-justiciable, meaning the content of consultation falls outside the scope of judicial scrutiny.
The Supreme Court emphasized that judicial appointments are not the domain of a single individual but rather a collaborative effort involving all Collegium members.
The Court observed,
“It is a collaborative and participatory process involving all Collegium members. The underlying principle is that the process of appointment of judges must reflect the collective wisdom that draws from diverse perspectives. Such a process ensures that principles of transparency and accountability are maintained,”
This ruling came in a case providing relief to two District Judges from Himachal Pradesh, Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra.
The Court directed the High Court Collegium to reconsider their candidacies for elevation to the Himachal Pradesh High Court after it was found that their merit and seniority had been overlooked.
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The Supreme Court sided with the petitioners, concluding that the High Court Collegium’s decision had been made solely by the Chief Justice without proper consultation with other members. Consequently, the Court ordered the High Court Collegium to reevaluate the candidacies of the two judges.
Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, along with advocates Bina Madhavan, S Udaya Kumar Sagar, Shreyasi Kunwar, Shubhangi Arora, and Niharika Tanneru, represented the petitioners, while Senior Advocates Dr. S Muralidhar and K Parameshwar, along with a team of advocates, represented the Himachal Pradesh High Court.