Government Returns SC Collegium Recommendation of Elevation of Two Lawyers as Judges of Allahabad High Court

The names had earlier also been rejected by the Centre.

New Delhi, June 25: In what could lead to another face-off, the Centre has rejected the nominations of two lawyers as judges of the High Court as recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.  The names of Mohammad Mansoor and Basharat Ali Khan were recommended as judges of the Allahabad High Court but were returned by the Centre over complaints against the two. Mansoor is the son of former Supreme Court judge late Saghir Ahmed, who was also the head of a working group on Jammu and Kashmir set up by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to study the relations between the state and the Centre, reported DNA. (Also read: SC Collegium Defers Justice Joseph’s Elevation)

The file recommending the names had been returned by the Modi government on an earlier occasion as well, said the report. But the collegium reiterated its recommendation, terming the complaints as frivolous. Last month, the recommendation was returned by the government after keeping the matter pending for over two-and-a-half years. With Justice J Chelameswar retiring past Friday, the five-member collegium — a body of top five Supreme Court judges — will have to be reconstituted. The collegium, with a new member Justice AK Sikri, will now have to take a call on the two names.

The two lawyers have been regularly appearing as senior standing counsel in the Allahabad High Court. Meanwhile, the government has also decided to return the name of advocate Nazir Ahmed Beig for elevation as the Jammu and Kashmir High Court judge. The names of three others, Wasim Sadiq Nargal, Sindhu Sharma and district judge Rashid Ali Dar,  are being processed by the Law Ministry, said the report.