SC recommends advocate Rohit Kapoor’s name for appointment as Punjab and Haryana High Court judge
Satya Prakash
New Delhi, January 4
The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended the name of advocate Rohit Kapoor for elevation to the Bench, saying he “is fit and suitable” for appointment as a Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court—which has been functioning with only 57 judges against a sanctioned strength of 85.
The three-member Collegium of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice BR Gavai also reiterated its recommendation for appointment of advocates Harmeet Singh Grewal and Deepinder Singh Nalwa, whose names were approved by it on October 17, 2023.
The collegium said Grewal and Nalwa should be given precedence in the matter of appointment over Kapoor and “the inter se seniority of all the three Advocates be fixed as per the existing practice”.
The recommendation for Kapoor’s appointment as Judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana was made by the Collegium of the High Court on April 21, 2023 and “the Chief Minister and the Governor for the States of Punjab and Haryana have conveyed their concurrence to the above recommendation,” the Collegium resolution stated.
“The enquiries made by us with reliable sources to ascertain suitability of the candidate reveal that Shri Rohit Kapoor is a competent advocate suitable for elevation to the High Court,” it added.
The Supreme Court Collegium had in October last year recommended the names ofadvocates Harmeet Singh Grewal, Deepinder Singh Nalwa, Sumeet Goel, Sudeepti Sharma and Kirti Singh for appointment as judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
While the Centre notified the appointment of Goel, Sharma and Singh, it chose not to act on Grewal and Nalwa.
Maintaining that there was “nothing adverse” with regard to integrity of Grewal, Goel, Sharma and Singh, the Department of Justice had earlier indicated that Nalwa’s “financial integrity is not considered above board”.
However, the Collegium had overruled the Department of Justice, saying, “These inputs are vague and the Government in this regard has fairly stated that there is nothing on record to substantiate these adverse inputs. All the three consultee-Judges have unanimously given a positive opinion on the suitability of the candidate (Nalwa) for appointment as a Judge of the High Court.”
On Thursday, the Collegium also recommended the name of Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi and Justice Rahul Bharti, Additional Judges, for appointment as Permanent Judge of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and Justice Abhay Ahuja, an Additional Judge, to be appointed as permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court.
It recommended the names of advocate Shamima Jahan and judicial officer Yarenjungla Longkumer for appointment as Judges of the Gauhati High Court, judicial officer Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) for appointment as Judge of the Calcutta High Court and Judicial Officer Arvind Kumar Verma for appointment as a Judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
