india

Updated: Aug 28, 2019 23:55 IST

The Supreme Court has received a communication from the government in connection with the Collegium’s recommendation to appoint justice Akil Kureshi as chief justice of Madhya Pradesh high court. The response has been sent on the administrative side.

Divulging this on Wednesday, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said the communication would be placed before the Collegium to examine and take a call. The bench, also comprising justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer, was hearing a petition filed by the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association. The unexplained delay by the government in taking a call on justice Kureshi’s elevation is under the court’s scrutiny. It said the matter would be listed soon after the Collegium takes a decision. At the last hearing, senior advocate Fali Nariman, appearing for the petitioner, had said the government should not “deliberately” sit on a recommendation made by the Collegium and must act as a “distinguished communicator”. The recommendation was sent on May 10 and the Centre should clarify whether it had sought feedback from the MP government, he said.

It has been alleged that Justice Kureshi has been singled out because the other judges, who were recommended along with him, have been appointed.

“The deliberate inaction of the respondent (Centre) in not appointing Mr. Justice Akil Kureshi as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court impinges and diminishes the primacy of the judiciary in the matters of appointment and transfer of judges to High Court and Supreme Court,” the petition filed by the association, through its president and senior advocate Yatin Oza, submitted.