Bombay Bar Association Slams ‘Modification’ Of Collegium Recommendation To Elevate Justice Kureshi As MP HC CJI

The Bombay Bar Association (BBA) has strongly criticized the Supreme Court Collegium's recent move modifying its recommendation to elevate Justice Akil Kureshi “at the behest of the Government of India”.

The BBA has passed a resolution disapproving the manner in which the government has interfered with the Collegium’s decision making in the appointment of Justice Akil A Kureshi, adding that such actions threaten the independence of the judiciary

The resolution passed by the Collegium on September 5 had intimated that the central government had returned the proposal to appoint Justice Kureshi to Madhya Pradesh High Court twice.

The two communications were received by the Collegium on August 23 and August 27 along with accompanying material.

Taking these into account, the Collegium decided to modify its decision and recommend that Justice Kureshi be appointed as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court instead of elevating him as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court as it had decided initially.

This development came in the wake of protests by the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA) against alleged efforts to stall Justice Kureshi's elevation as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The GHCAA had also moved the Supreme Court, prompting the top court to assure that the Collegium would take a call on the issue.

However, the proposal issued thereafter by the Collegium raised controversy after it modified its earlier proposal and appointed Justice Kureshi as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court, which is a smaller high court compared to the Madhya Pradesh High Court.