New Delhi, April 15: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended to the Centre the names of judicial officers Girish Kathpalia, Dharmesh Sharma and Manoj Jain for their appointment as Delhi High Court judges.

The Collegium, which includes 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, in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues, recommended the elevation of three judicial officers as High Court judges. Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Three Chief Justices, Two Judges of High Courts for Elevation to Top Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium received the file from the Union Law Ministry on April 7. Delhi High Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 60, has 45 judges at present. If the three names recommended are accepted, the High Court's strength will rise to 48. Centre Approves All 9 Judges Recommended By The Supreme Court Collegium, Including 3 Women Judges.

In its April 12 resolution, the Collegium ascertained "the fitness and suitability" of the judicial officers for elevation and consulted the top court judges "conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Delhi".

"For the purpose of assessing the merit and suitability of the above-named Judicial Officers for elevation to the High Court of Delhi, 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," the resolution stated.

Before recommending the names of the three judicial officers to the Centre, the Collegium said it has considered the report of the Judgment Evaluation Committee, which graded the judgments authored by them as "outstanding".

The Collegium also took note of Intelligence Bureau reports on these officers that they have "good personal and professional image" and "nothing adverse" has come to notice against their integrity.

"In view of the above, the Collegium resolves to recommend that Girish Kathpalia, Dharmesh Sharma, and Manoj Jain, Judicial Officers, be appointed as Judges of the High Court of Delhi. Their inter se seniority be fixed as per the existing practice," the resolution of the Collegium added.

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