In a surprising move, the Supreme Court Collegium has decided to extend the terms of nine additional judges of the Calcutta High Court for only one more year, despite earlier recommendations for their permanent appointment. This decision, made on Wednesday, contrasts with the High Court Collegium’s unanimous recommendation and the Central government’s support for making these judges permanent.
The judges affected by this decision are Justices Biswaroop Chowdhury, Partha Sarathi Sen, Prasenjit Biswas, Uday Kumar, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Supratim Bhattacharya, Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, Apurba Sinha Ray, and Md Shabbar Rashidi. Their new term will begin on August 31, 2024.
The High Court Collegium had initially recommended on April 29 that these judges be made permanent, a suggestion with which the Central government concurred. However, the Chief Minister and the Governor of West Bengal did not express their opinions on the matter. In such cases, according to the Memorandum of Procedure, it is assumed that these constitutional authorities have no objections.
The Supreme Court Collegium then sought the opinions of judges familiar with the workings of the Calcutta High Court. Following a thorough evaluation of the judges’ past judgments and overall suitability, the Collegium decided that a one-year extension would be more appropriate than granting permanent status.
