The Supreme Court's recently published data on the judges' appointment process has revealed that 29 recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for appointment as High Court judges between November 9, 2022, and May 5, 2025, are still pending with the Central Government.
The pending recommendations include names like Ramaswamy Neelakandan for Madras High Court, recommended on January 17, 2023, and Arun Kumar for Allahabad High Court, recommended on May 9, 2023. Others include Subhash Upadhyay for Uttarakhand High Court (recommended on April 12, 2023), Amit Sethi for Madhya Pradesh High Court (October 17, 2023), and Rohit Kapoor for Punjab and Haryana High Court (January 4, 2024).
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Some other notable pending recommendations are:
- Shamima Jahan (Gauhati HC) – Recommended on January 4, 2024.
- Deepak Khot (MP HC) – Recommended on January 9, 2024.
- Siddhartha Sah (Uttarakhand HC) – Recommended on October 17, 2023.
- Sreeja Vijayalakshmi (Kerala HC) – Recommended on April 16, 2024.
- Rajesh Sudhakar Datar (Bombay HC) – Recommended on September 24, 2024.
The list further extends with other notable names, including Ritesh Kumar for Patna High Court (February 20, 2025) and Krishnaraj Thaker for Calcutta High Court (February 25, 2025).
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"The Supreme Court had earlier, on its judicial side, criticised the Union Government for delaying decisions on collegium recommendations, stating that such delays disrupt the judges' seniority."
Between November 2022 and November 2024, the Supreme Court Collegium reviewed 303 proposals for High Court appointments. Out of these, 170 were approved, comprising:
- 7 Judges from Scheduled Castes
- 5 from Scheduled Tribes
- 21 from Other Backward Classes (OBC)
- 28 Women
- 23 from Minority Communities
- 12 having family ties to judges
- 7 from Most Backward Classes
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Further analysis reveals that from November 2024 to May 5, 2025, during Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna's term, the SCC approved 51 appointments out of 103 candidates. The approved list included 11 from OBC, 1 from Scheduled Caste, 2 from Scheduled Tribes, 8 from Minority Communities, 6 Women, and 2 related to sitting or retired judges of the High Court or Supreme Court.
Out of the 170 recommendations made between November 2022 and November 2024, 17 remain pending with the Central Government. Additionally, from the 51 recommendations made between November 2024 and May 5, 2025, 12 are still pending.
The Supreme Court has consistently emphasized that delays in clearing collegium recommendations disrupt the appointment process and may lead to seniority issues among judges. It has also criticized the practice of the Union Government splitting collegium resolutions, where only certain names from a list are approved, while others are kept pending.
"The Court disapproved of the Centre splitting collegium resolutions, as it impacts the judges' seniority and disrupts the appointment process."
The Central Government's delay in approving these recommendations has sparked debates over judicial independence and transparency in the appointment process, with legal experts calling for faster action to maintain the judiciary's effective functioning.
