DH File photo.
DH File photo.
The Supreme Court's Collegium has decided that the judgements of additional judges of a High Court would be evaluated by judges of the apex court only, to decide their suitability for appointment as permanent judges.
The judgements of additional judges, who are appointed for a period of two years, were hitherto examined by a judges' committee to decide their suitability for appointment as permanent judges.
In view of a letter by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and also relying upon the principle that peer judgement is not right, the top five-judge Collegium presided over by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra decided that the judgements delivered by additional judges would be evaluated by a committee of two judges of the apex court, other than the consultee-judges, nominated by the CJI.
The Collegium modified its earlier decision taken on March 3, 2017 by which the chief justice of the HC concerned was to set up a judges committee for assessment and evaluation of the judgements passed by additional judges for determining their suitability for elevation. The Collegium's unanimous decision was taken on Thursday.