Centre Clears Judge Whose Top Court Elevation Was Opposed By Collegium Member

Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Pancholi and Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe have been elevated as judges of the Supreme Court, the Centre announced on Wednesday. There had been disagreement in the Collegium over Justice Pancholi's name and one of the judges had recorded a strong note of dissent over his elevation.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint (i) Shri Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice, Bombay High Court and (ii) Shri Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Chief Justice, Patna High Court as Judges of the Supreme Court of India," Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal wrote on X.

With the fresh appointments, the Supreme Court will reach its sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. 

The five-member Collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, JK Maheshwari, Vikram Nath, and BV Nagarathna, had announced its recommendation to elevate the two judges on Monday and it had come to light soon after that Justice Nagarathna had dissented. Contending that his appointment would be "counter-productive" to the judiciary, Justice Nagarathna had reportedly even gone on to state that it could erode "whatever credibility the collegium system still holds".

Sources said Justice Nagarathna, who is the only woman judge in the Supreme Court and is in line to become the first woman Chief Justice of India in September 2027, had pointed out that there are several judges who outrank Justice Pancholi and could be considered for the post.

News agency PTI reported that one of the reasons for Justice Nagarathna's dissent was Justice Pancholi's July 2023 transfer from the Gujarat High Court to the Patna High Court. She is learnt to have said it was "not a routine transfer, but a carefully considered move made after consultations with several senior judges, all of whom concurred with the decision".

Representation was also a concern, with Justice Nagarathna pointing out that two other judges from the Gujarat High Court are already in the Supreme Court roster. 

With his elevation, Justice Pancholi will also be in line to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in October 2031.

'Judges Bypassed'

A statement from the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform (CJAR), which works to promote transparency and accountability in the judiciary, noted that Justice Nagarathna had expressed her reservations in May as well. 

"As reported in the media, the Collegium took a 4-1 split decision with respect to the elevation of Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, Justice Pancholi, as Judge of the Supreme Court. It is reported that Justice BV Nagarathna, as member of the Collegium, recorded a strong note of dissent against the appointment of Justice Pancholi to the Supreme Court, stating that his appointment would be "counter-productive" to the administration of justice and would erode the credibility of the collegium system," the CJAR said.

Noting that Justice Pancholi is the third judge from Gujarat to be elevated to the Supreme Court and is 57th in the all-India seniority list of High Court judges, the organisation said, "As reported, Justice Nagarathna opined in her dissent, that several meritorious and more senior judges had been bypassed while recommending him. She is reported to have further stated that Justice Pancholi's future CJI-ship tenure would not be in the institution's interest." 

The CJAR said Justice Nagarathna's dissent has not been published on the Supreme Court website despite her asking for it 

"CJAR had welcomed the disclosure by the previous Chief Justice of India of proposals for judicial appointments approved by the Supreme Court collegium. The documents then uploaded on the Supreme Court website provided crucial details, including on the background of the candidates, whether they were related to any sitting/retired judge and the details of appointments approved by the Collegium which are pending with the government. This level of transparency had increased public faith in the collegium system to some extent. We had hoped that this level of disclosure would become the norm for every future appointment," it said in the statement. 

The organisation said Monday's Collegium resolution did not detail the background of the two judges and did not mention why preference was given to a candidate despite him being lower in terms of seniority. 

Careers

Justice Aradhe started as an advocate in 1988 and was designated a senior advocate in 2007. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Telangana High Court in July 2023 and was appointed the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in January this year.

Born in Ahmedabad, Justice Pancholi joined the Bar in 1991. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in 2014, was transferred to the Patna High Court in July 2023 and took charge as its Chief Justice in July this year.