Centre Approves One-Year Extension for Nine Additional Judges of Calcutta HC

The Central government approved a one-year extension for nine additional judges of the Calcutta High Court on Monday (August 5).

The judges—Justices Biswaroop Chowdhury, Partha Sarathi Sen, Prasenjit Biswas, Uday Kumar, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Supratim Bhattacharya, Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, Apurba Sinha Ray, and Md Shabbar Rashidi—will serve a fresh one-year term starting August 31, 2024.

In July, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to extend the terms of these nine judges for one year rather than making them permanent. This decision was made despite the High Court Collegium’s unanimous recommendation on April 29 to appoint the judges as permanent members, which was supported by the Central government.

The Chief Minister and Governor of West Bengal did not provide their views on the High Court Collegium’s recommendation. The Supreme Court Collegium consulted judges familiar with the Calcutta High Court’s affairs before deciding against making the judges permanent. Instead, it recommended a new one-year term for them as additional judges, a decision now approved by the Central government.

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