The Supreme Court Collegium has declined to appoint nine Additional Judges of the Calcutta High Court as permanent judges, instead recommending their reappointment for a fresh one-year term. This decision comes despite the Calcutta High Court Collegium’s unanimous recommendation on April 29, 2024, to make these judges permanent.
The judges affected by this decision are Justices Biswaroop Chowdhury, Partha Sarathi Sen, Prasenjit Biswas, Uday Kumar, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Supratim Bhattacharya, Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, Apurba Sinha Ray, and Md. Shabbar Rashidi.
Notably, the Chief Minister and Governor of West Bengal did not provide their views on the recommendation within the prescribed timeframe. As per procedure, their silence was interpreted as having nothing to add to the proposal.
The Supreme Court Collegium’s decision was based on a thorough evaluation process. This included consulting colleagues familiar with the Calcutta High Court’s affairs, assessing the judges’ judgments by a two-judge Supreme Court committee, and scrutinizing relevant materials.
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The Collegium’s resolution, signed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B.R. Gavai, recommends that these Additional Judges be appointed for a fresh one-year term starting August 31, 2024.
