HC: Didn't get SC collegium note on judge picks even after 6 months

NEW DELHI:

Himachal HC

in Shimla is just 340km from SC but sensitive apex court communications did not reach it for six months and

HC

chief justice, without consulting the collegium, wrote to SC about non-suitability of two senior-most judicial officers, earlier recommended for appointment as HC judges.
This was stated in HC registrar general J K Sharma's report on Monday before a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti, which is hearing a petition filed by judicial officers Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra alleging that HC collegium brushed aside

SC collegium

's Jan 4 directive to reconsider an earlier proposal to appoint them as HC judges and recommended judicial officers junior to them for elevation.

In the report, HC said its CJ had written to CJI D Y Chandrachud on Dec 11 last year "seeking guidance on whether SC collegium requires any further inputs about suitability of Singh and Malhotra".
However, the law minister on Jan 16 wrote to HC CJ pointing to the Jan 4 SC collegium resolution sending back names of Singh and Malhotra to HC for reconsideration.

HC told SC it had not received SC collegium's Jan 4 resolution even after 6 months. It said law minister's letter, extracting SC collegium's resolution, appeared to convey that it was for HC CJ alone to reconsider proposal for elevation.
This turns upside down the basics of collegium-based judge selection system, created through two judgments of SC in the 1990s and specifying that HC collegium means the CJ and two senior-most judges, and for SC, it is the CJI with four senior-most judges.
Continuing to doubt if SC collegium had sent back names of Singh and Malhotra for reconsideration, HC said CJI on Feb 27 wrote to HC CJ reminding him about filling vacancies of judges' posts in HC.