New Delhi: The Central Government has notified the appointment of two judicial officers as additional judges of the Delhi High Court. The Judicial officers Girish Kathpalia and Manoj Jain on Monday were sworn in as Additional Judges of the Delhi High Court by Chief Justice Satish Chander Sharma. With this new induction, the Delhi High Court now has 47 judges on its roster.
The appointment of Girish Kathpalia and Manoj Jain, two judicial officers, as additional judges for the Delhi High Court was announced by the Ministry of Law and Justice last week.
Girish Kathpalia, Dharmesh Sharma, and Manoj Jain were recently recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium to the Centre for appointment as judges for the Delhi High Court.
The Collegium, which consists of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and KM Joseph, noted that on December 22, 2022, the Chief Justice of the High Court recommended the elevation of three judicial officers as High Court judges after consulting with his two senior-most colleagues. The Union Law Ministry sent the file to the Supreme Court Collegium on April 7.
The Collegium consulted the highest court judges "conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Delhi" in order to determine "the fitness and suitability" of the judicial officers for elevation in its resolution from April 12th.
"We have scrutinised and evaluated the material placed on record, including the observations made by the Department of Justice and certain complaints/representations placed before us, for the purpose of assessing the merit and suitability of the above-named Judicial Officers for elevation to the High Court of Delhi." the resolution read.
The Collegium stated that it had taken into account the Judgement Evaluation Committee's report and given the three judicial officers' judgements a "outstanding" rating before proposing their names to the Centre.
The Collegium also took note of reports from the Intelligence Bureau stating that these officers have "good personal and professional image" and "nothing adverse" has been discovered regarding their integrity.The Collegium decides to suggest Girish Kathpalia, Dharmesh Sharma, and Manoj Jain, three judicial officers, be appointed as judges of the Delhi High Court in light of the foregoing. The Collegium further resolved that "their inter se seniority be fixed in accordance with the existing practise."
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