Collegium Standoff: Government Returns Files on Appointments of High Court Judges

The Central Government has asked the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider 20 files related to the appointment of judges in the High Courts. Sources told the Legally speaking on Monday that this includes the file of advocate Saurabh Kirpal, who has declared himself gay. 

Sources also said, “The Center has raised strong objections to the recommended names and returned the files to the collegium on November 25.” ' He said that out of these 20 cases, 11 are new cases, while nine cases were re-referred by the collegium of the apex court. 

In November 2021, the collegium headed by the then Chief Justice NV Ramana had recommended the name of Saurabh Kripal for appointment as a judge in the Delhi High Court. Saurabh Kripal is the son of former Chief Justice BN Kripal. The Delhi High Court Collegium had sent Kripal's name to the Supreme Court Collegium in October 2017. But the apex court deferred consideration of his name thrice. Kripal recently said that he felt the reason for his neglect was his sexual orientation.
The Supreme Court on Monday expressed anguish over the delay by the Centre in clearing the names recommended by the collegium for appointment as judges in the higher judiciary, saying it "effectively frustrates" the method of appointment. 

A bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka said a three-judge bench of the apex court had laid down the timelines within which the appointment process had to be completed. Those timelines, it said, have to be adhered to.