NEW DELHI: The Union Law Ministry is understood to have cleared six or seven names of the 17 recommended by the High Court collegium and approved by the Supreme Court for being appointed judges of the Madras High Court.

While four of the five district judges were cleared for elevation, only two or three lawyers got the nod from the Ministry, highly-placed sources told The Hindu . The files had been sent to the Prime Minister's Office for being forwarded to the President. The appointments could be expected this week.

Justifying the short-listing of names, the sources said it had become necessary as further enquiry was needed following the receipt of fresh materials in respect of the remaining persons. Only after getting the complete details could their names be processed further, they said.

Justice Ajit Prakash Shah from the Bombay High Court is being elevated as the Chief Justice. His appointment was expected in a couple of days.

In a related development, the Madras High Court Advocates Association sought the intervention of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to ensure that all the 17 were appointed forthwith.

In a memorandum, association president S. Prabhakaran said the strength of judges in the High Court was 21, of which 11 were from the subordinate judiciary and 10 from the Bar. He said as per convention, two-thirds of the judges should be drawn from among the lawyers and the rest from among the district judges.

Since the sanctioned strength of judges was 42, excluding seven for the Madurai Bench, 28 judges should be drawn from the Bar and 14 from among the district judges.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail