Jharkhand government approached the Supreme Court seeking contempt of court action against the Union government. The plea comes three months after the Supreme Court collegium recommended Justice M S Ramachandra Rao as the chief justice of Jharkhand. As Justice B R Sarangi retired on July 19, Jharkhand has been without a chief justice for more than two months.
Allegations Of Intentional Delay
The Jharkhand government, which is led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, alleged on Tuesday that the collegium of the Supreme Court – Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud being a member of that had cautioned about the vacancy and had advised the Chief Justice’s transfer from Himachal Pradesh to Jharkhand. There is no response, however, from the Union government and the Centre shows what the officers of Jharkhand describe as the contempt of the Supreme Court decisions.
This delay violates Article 216 of the Constitution, which simply says that every high court must have a chief justice and other judges. It said that the absence of a chief justice interrupted the judicial process in the state.
Legal Questions And Effects
The Supreme Court can file contempt proceedings against anybody not obeying its judgments. Earlier, retired Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Supreme Court had issued a notice warning the Centre for contempt proceedings over the delay by the Centre in collegium decision implementation but let it go there.
Background On Judge Appointments
The collegium system introduced by the Supreme Court during the 1990s gave the collegium the power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. However, no time frame has been given by the Supreme Court regarding the said appointments. While the Centre cannot outright reject a decision of the collegium, it may seek reconsideration from the collegium by highlighting some concerns the Centre feels were not wholly discussed and turned down during the collegium’s process.
A significant opportunity has arisen in the context of recent dialogues related to collegium proposals for the timely completion of appointments and transfers of High Court judges. Attorney General R Venkataramani said he would update on Chief Justices’ appointments next week.
