SRINAGAR: The Supreme Court Collegium has reiterated the recommendation of two names for appointment as judges for the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. They are Moksha Khajuria Kazmi and Rahul Bharti.
The two Jammu and Kashmir nominees were recommended along with 10 others. This could mark the beginning of a confrontation between the Supreme Court and the Central Government, The Indian Express reported.
“The 12 names were reiterated despite objections from the government as the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, recommended 68 candidates in total across 12 High Courts last week,” the newspaper reported. “According to the Memorandum of Procedure, once reiterated by the Collegium, the Centre is bound to make the appointment which makes the reiteration of 12 recommendations significant. The Centre can sit on these names indefinitely despite the court having underlined the importance of time limits to this process.”
The names of two Jammu and Kashmir advocates were also recommended earlier and were reiterated on Friday. Kazmi was first recommended in October 2019, Bharti was recommended in March. “Khajuria-Kazmi is a senior advocate who has served as Additional Advocate General during Governor’s rule in 2016 and later continued to serve in the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP government in J&K before her services were terminated,” the newspaper reported.
