NEW DELHI: The Centre is yet to give nod for elevation of two senior advocates based in Chennai as judges of the Madras High Court though the Supreme Court collegium made recommendation for them in February along with four others.
On February 16, the collegium headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana had recommended the names of six lawyers — Nidumolu Mala, Sunder Mohan, Kabali Kumaresh Babu, S Sounthar, Abdul Ghani Abdul Hameed, and R John Sathyan for the judgeship in High Court. This was after the recommendation forwarded by the Madras HC collegium to the SC collegium in 2021.
However, in March 2022, the Law Ministry approved elevation of only two — Mala and Sounthar. It is learnt that the Centre also approved two more names; Babu and Mohan subsequently. According to the sources, the recommendation for Hameed and Sathyan are still pending as the Government had some objections. Their cases have not been sent back officially, added the sources.
The collegium to appoint judges of the HC comprises the CJI, Justices UU Lalit and Justice AM Khanwilkar. As per the source, recommendation for the two advocates — Hameed and Sathyan had been given go-ahead with ‘good reviews’. Hameed, a Chennai-based advocate, is the head of a law firm — AAV Partners. Sathyan is a leading criminal lawyer in Chennai. He studied law in the Madras Law College. Reports stated that Sathyan’s elevation was earlier in consideration in 2016-17.