KOCHI: In an extraordinary step, the Supreme Court Collegium dismissed the remarks of the Department of Justice under the Centre and the Kerala government on two separate candidates and recommended their elevation as judges of the Kerala High Court.
The Department of Justice had remarked in the file that “Manoj P M is considered to be a CPM sympathiser. He was appointed as government pleader in 2010 and 2016-2021 by the LDF Government.” Similarly, the state government had made an adverse remark on the professional competence of Manu S, deputy solicitor general, stating that it “is viewed average”.
In Manoj’s case, the Collegium said the input that the candidate is considered to be a CPM sympathiser is “extremely vague”.
“Even otherwise, the mere fact that the candidate has had a political background may not be a sufficient reason in all cases. For example, in the recent past, an Advocate has been appointed as a Judge of the High Court though she was an office bearer of a political party before her elevation,” the Collegium said.
Similarly, that Manoj was appointed as a government pleader (GP) by the LDF government does not constitute a valid ground to reject his candidature. As a matter of fact, the appointment of the candidate as a GP would indicate that he would have acquired sufficient experience in handling cases in diverse branches of law.
On the state government’s remark in Manu’s case, the Collegium said the government notes that nothing adverse has come to notice regarding the integrity of the candidate.
“However, the input indicates that his professional competence ‘is viewed to be average’. The observation on the professional competence of the candidate is not correct bearing in mind that, the candidate has 50 reported judgments to his credit delivered by the High Court; and the candidate has a professional income of Rs 70.97 lakh. The opinion of the Collegium of the High Court on the competence and suitability of the candidate would have to be given due credence” since its members have seen and observed his performance.
