Srinagar: The Supreme Court collegium unanimously rejected the recommendation from the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to appoint Advocate Mohsin Qadri as a High Court Judge, citing reports shared by the Union Law Ministry, according to sources.
News agency KDC quoted sources stating that the Supreme Court collegium, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and including Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R, deliberated on the recommendation of Advocate Qadri. Unanimously, the collegium decided to reject the proposal put forth by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
"Considering the feedback gathered from consultee Judges and the reports provided by the Union Law Ministry, the collegium has resolved to return the recommendation of Advocate Qadri," affirmed sources.
Sources further verified that during the same meeting held on January 5 this year, the Supreme Court collegium under the leadership of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud recommended the names of Additional Judges — Justices Rahul Bharti and Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, both from the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, for their appointment as Permanent Judges.
With the rejection of the name of Advocate Qadri, a vacancy has been created in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and now the process has to be initiated afresh for filling up this vacancy, sources elaborated.
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has a sanctioned strength of 17 Judges, including 13 Permanent Judges and 4 Additional Judges. Presently, the High Court has 11 Permanent Judges, including Chief Justice N. Kotiswar Singh.
Other Judges include Justice Tashi Rabstan, Justice Atul Sreedharan, Justice Sanjeev Kumar Shukla, Justice Sindhu Sharma, Justice Rajnesh Oswal, Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, Justice Sanjay Dhar, Justice Puneet Gupta, Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, Justice Mohd Akram Chowdhary, Justice Rahul Bharti, Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal, and Justice Rajesh Sekhri.