Supreme Court Collegium recommends appointment of advocate as Punjab & Haryana HC judge

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, has recommended the appointment of advocate Rohit Kapoor as judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court.

The Collegium of the P&H High Court had recommended his name on April 21, 2023.

In light of the inputs provided by the government, the consideration of the recommendation was deferred with a view to seek a report from the Chief Justice of the P&H High Court in consultation with members of the High Court Collegium on the suitability of the candidate.

Thereafter, the Chief Justice of the High Court, by a letter dated November 28, 2023 forwarded the minutes of the Collegium regarding suitability of the candidate. The SC Collegium said that it has consulted other judges of the apex court who are conversant with the functioning of the P&H High Court with a view to ascertain the fitness and suitability of the candidate.

"We have scrutinised and evaluated the material placed on record, including the report of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana forwarding the recommendation of the Collegium dated 23 November 2023, based on the response/compilation of statistics submitted by Rohit Kapoor relating to his performance as arguing counsel. The enquiries made by us with reliable sources to ascertain suitability of the candidate reveal that Shri Rohit Kapoor is a competent advocate suitable for elevation to the High Court,” it said.

It added that names of advocates Harmeet Singh Grewal and Deepinder Singh Nalwa – which have been approved by the Collegium on October 17, 2023 – be given precedence in the matter of appointment, clarifying that the inter se seniority of all the three advocates be fixed as per the existing practice.

"The Chief Minister and the Governor for the States of Punjab and Haryana have conveyed their concurrence to the above recommendation," said the statement uploaded on the website of the apex court.