Himachal judicial officer moves SC against Collegium’s recommendation to elevate his ‘juniors' to High Court

A judicial officer from Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Chief Justice of India-led Collegium recommendation for the appointment of judicial officers junior to him as judges of the state High Court.

“The Collegium has recommended the names of officers junior to me to the Central Government,” the petitioner’s counsel told a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana, seeking urgent listing of his petition.

CJI Kant said he will look into the matter.

The Supreme Court Collegium had on June 2 recommended the appointment of three judicial officers as judges of the Himachal Pradesh High Court which is functioning with only 12 judges against a sanctioned strength of 17, including the Chief Justice.

The judicial officers recommended for elevation to the High Court are Chirag Bhanu Singh, Bhupesh Sharma and Yogesh Jaswal.

Once accepted and notified by the Department of Justice of the Central Government, these appointments will take the number of judges in the Himachal Pradesh High Court to 15.

In 2024, two district judges from Himachal had moved the Supreme Court alleging that their merit and seniority had been overlooked by the High Court Collegium which recommended names for elevation. In September 2024, the top court had requested the Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice to reconsider their names.