AMN / NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court has said, the process of appointing High Court judges needs to be done expeditiously by those entrusted with this obligation to keep the hopes of litigants alive and provide speedy justice.
The observation was made by a bench comprising of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan. It came in the wake of delays taking place at different stages, from forwarding of names by the respective High Court Chief Justices, waiting for inputs from the executive, clearance from the apex court collegium and the final nod from the executive.
The bench said, the inordinate delay sometimes for more than a year, adversely affects the tenure of the judicial officers of the subordinate judiciary who are recommended for elevation to the High Courts.
The bench made the observation while dismissing a PIL challenging the elevation of two Rajasthan Judicial Service officials as Additional Judges of the Rajasthan High Court. The court rejected the petitioner’s contention that since the appointments of the two judges were made for a period of fewer than two years, it violated Article 224 of the Constitution which provides for the appointment of additional and acting judges of the High Courts.