Before Supreme Court Collegium: Can Acting Chief Justices of HCs send names for judge appointments?

Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, the Acting Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, has been in office for nearly a year. The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, will have to consider at least four names recommended by Sharma for judge appointments. There is a debate within the Collegium about whether names sent by an Acting Chief Justice should be rejected solely due to their official title, or if they should be evaluated based on merit.

This sentiment is supported by the fact that Sharma's tenure as Acting Chief Justice is relatively long and that Rajasthan is his parent High Court. Conversely, some argue that accepting names from Acting Chief Justices would set a precedent for long-term temporary tenures, as there would be no urgency to appoint a permanent Chief Justice.

Historically, Acting Chief Justices do not typically make recommendations for judicial appointments. However, in certain exceptional situations, the Collegium has taken different approaches when names have been submitted. For instance, when Justice Dharmadhikari was acting CJ of Bombay HC, he submitted a list of 22 names for High Court judge appointments, which the Collegium sent to the Centre despite objections from two consultee judges.

The Collegium relied on an affirmative response from a third consultee judge who had served on the Bombay High Court for a long period.