Days after the Madras High Court recommended 13 advocates for appointment as judges, a public interest writ petition has been filed questioning the legality and constitutionality of the collegium that selected and recommended the names.
In his PIL, A. Prem Kumar said the High Court collegium normally includes the Chief Justice and the two seniormost judges of the court. He explained that until December 19, the collegium consisted of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, Justice R. Suresh Kumar, and Justice J. Nisha Banu, who was the second seniormost judge at that time.
Although Justice Nisha Banu was transferred to the Kerala High Court through a notification dated October 14, she continued to be part of the Madras High Court collegium because she did not take charge in Kerala until December 19, the petitioner said.
However, the recommendation of 13 advocates was made by a collegium made up of the Chief Justice, Justice R. Suresh Kumar, and Justice M.S. Ramesh, leaving out Justice Nisha Banu. The petitioner argued that this made the process flawed. He added that the Chief Justice should not have gone ahead with the recommendations by including Justice Ramesh, since Justice Nisha Banu had not officially joined the Kerala High Court until December 19.