Centre clears appointment of three advocates as Gujarat HC judges

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday cleared the appointment of threeadvocatesas judges of the Gujarat High Court on the recommendations made by the CJI D.Y. Chandrachud-headed Supreme Court Collegium.

A notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice said that advocates Sanjeev Jayendra Thaker, Deeptendra Narayan Ray, and Maulik Jitendra Shelat have been appointed as Gujarat HC judges by the President.

"In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint S/Shri (i) Sanjeev Jayendra Thaker, (ii) Deeptendra Narayan Ray and (iii) Maulik Jitendra Shelat, to be Judges of the Gujarat High Court, in that order of seniority, with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices," the notification said.

In August this year, the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by CJI Chandrachud, recommended the appointment of these advocates as Gujarat HC judges.

Earlier, the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, in consultation with her two senior-most colleagues, forwarded the recommendation for the appointment of advocates Sanjeev Jayendra Thaker, Deeptendra Narayan Ray, and Maulik Jitendra Shelat as judges in the high court.

The SC Collegium said it consulted other apex court judges conversant with the affairs of the Gujarat High Court to ascertain the fitness and suitability of these candidates, adding that it perused the observations made by the Department of Justice in the file and evaluated the materials placed on record.

Advocate Sanjeev Jayendra Thaker practises predominantly in the City Civil and Sessions Court, Family Court, and Small Causes Court in Ahmedabad and also in the District Courts of Gujarat.

“His experience of 31 years at the Bar in handling cases at the trial level would be very useful, particularly in dealing with civil, commercial and arbitration cases in the High Court of Gujarat,” noted the SC Collegium.

Advocate D.N. Ray practises before the apex court and has recently been designated as a senior advocate by the Supreme Court. The SC Collegium said he has extensive practice which is reflected in his professional income and 58 reported judgments delivered in cases in which he has appeared.

In relation to advocate Maulik Jitendra Shelat, three consultee-judges have given positive opinions, while one consultee-judge has stated that he has not seen the performance of the candidate personally.

The SC Collegium said, “The inputs provided by the Department of Justice in the file indicate that the candidate enjoys a good personal and professional image and that nothing adverse has come to notice about his integrity. Bearing in mind all the relevant facts and circumstances, the Collegium is of the considered view that the candidate is fit and suitable for appointment as a judge of the high court.”

“The Chief Minister and the Governor of Gujarat have not conveyed their views on the above recommendation. The Department of Justice has forwarded the above recommendation by invoking Para 14 of the Memorandum of Procedure which provides that if the comments of the state's constitutional authorities are not received within the prescribed time frame, it should be presumed by the Minister of Law and Justice that the Governor and the Chief Minister have nothing to add to the proposal and proceed accordingly,” read a statement uploaded on the website of the apex court.