THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, Jan 4: The Advocates Association has urged Chief Justice MSR Ramchandra Rao not to recommend the appointment of “outsiders” as judges of the Jharkhand High Court.
In a letter to the Chief Justice, Association President Ritu Kumar warned that the organisation would oppose any such recommendation through all democratic means.
Kumar emphasised the need to prioritise eligible members of the Jharkhand High Court Advocates Association—those who are regular practitioners at the court and members of the Jharkhand State Bar Council.
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She recalled a meeting with the Chief Justice in December when she extended an invitation for him to attend the farewell function of Justice Subhash Chand. During that meeting, Kumar urged him to recommend fellow lawyers from the Bar for elevation, highlighting the existing vacancies in the court. However, the Chief Justice reportedly responded by stating, “We need good judges,” and mentioned that while he planned to make recommendations in January, they would not necessarily be from the Jharkhand High Court Bar.
Ex-CJ Virender Singh also tried to propose ‘outsiders’
Ritu Kumar also referred to a similar situation during the tenure of former Chief Justice Virender Singh. At that time, Justice Singh had considered recommending lawyers from outside the Jharkhand High Court Bar, but the Advocates Association opposed the idea. A general body meeting held on June 29, 2016, unanimously passed a resolution opposing the elevation of outsiders who were neither regular practitioners of the Jharkhand High Court nor members of the Jharkhand State Bar Council. Kumar emphasised that this 2016 resolution remains binding on the current executive committee.
In her letter, Kumar further highlighted that no recommendations for judicial elevation from the Bar quota have been made in nearly eight years, despite the availability of several eligible candidates within the Advocates Association.
Notably, there are seven vacancies in the Jharkhand High Court with a sanctioned strength of 25 judges. Six of them are to come from the Bar.
