Twenty-five Collegium recommendations for appointing HC judges pending with govt

New Delhi reported that 25 high court judge recommendations from the Supreme Court Collegium are currently pending with the government. The oldest recommendation, for advocate Saurabh Kirpal, has been waiting since October 2017. The number of pending recommendations has decreased compared to previous years. The pending names are spread across several high courts, including Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat.

Saurabh Kirpal, son of former Chief Justice B N Kirpal, was recommended in October 2017 by the Delhi High Court Collegium. However, the Supreme Court collegium deferred deliberations on his name three times before finally approving it in November 2021. The government then returned his file for reconsideration, but the decision remains pending.

The other 24 names are relatively recent. The high court collegiums send their recommendations to the Department of Justice in the Union law ministry, which then adds necessary details before forwarding the file to the Supreme Court collegium for further action.