The Supreme Court Collegium has rejected the action following a meeting convened on September 30th after the Central Government sought the name of the next Chief Justice from Chief Justice UU Lalit. Following the objection raised by two judges at this meeting, the Supreme Court Collegium has decided not to take any further action in this matter.
Chief Justice UU Lalit’s term ends on November 8. According to tradition, when his one-month term expires, he recommends to the government the name of the second most senior judge. As a result, on October 7, the Central Government sent a letter to Chief Justice U U Lalit requesting that he recommend the name of the next Chief Justice. Justice DY Chandrachud is currently the second most senior judge. If he is appointed Chief Justice, he will serve for more than two years.
In fact, two members of the collegium, Justices DY Chandrachud and S Abdul Nazeer had objected to the Chief Justice’s letter regarding proposals to appoint a Supreme Court judge. In this regard, the collegium held a formal meeting on September 26 to consider the names of 11 judges. This meeting went over all of the names and qualifications.
Following agreement on the name of Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Dipankar Dutta, the proposal to recommend to the Center that he be appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was approved.
