SC Collegium Recommends Appointment of 7 Judicial Officers as Patna and Madhya Pradesh HCs Judges

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud recommended the appointment of seven judicial officers as judges of the Patna and Madhya Pradesh High Courts.

The collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna, put forward judicial officers Rudra Prakash Mishra and Ramesh Chand Malviya as judges for the Patna High Court.

On May 8, 2023, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues, proposed the elevation of the aforementioned judicial officers as Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Patna.

“The Chief Minister and the Governor of the State of Bihar have concurred with the recommendation. To assess the fitness and suitability of these individuals for elevation to the High Court, we sought the counsel of Supreme Court Judges well-versed in the matters of the High Court of Judicature at Patna,” stated the collegium.

For the purpose of evaluating the merit and suitability of the candidates for elevation to the high court, the collegium carefully examined and assessed the material on record, which included the observations by the Department of Justice in the file and any complaints received against the candidates.

In another decision, the collegium recommended the names of judicial officers Rajendra Kumar Vani, Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Binod Kumar Dwivedi, Devnarayan Mishra, and Gajendra Singh as judges for the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

On May 11, 2023, and August 9, 2023, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues, made the aforementioned recommendations.

“The Chief Minister and the Governor of the State of Madhya Pradesh have concurred with the recommendations. To evaluate the fitness and suitability of these individuals for elevation to the High Court, we consulted a colleague who is well-versed in the affairs of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh,” noted the collegium.