Day 5 Arguments
Elevation of Justice KureshiAugust 28th 2019
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea by the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA) to direct the Union government to appoint Justice Kureshi as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The Union has yet to respond to a collegium recommendation made on May 10th, which recommends Justice Kureshi to be elevated to the post of Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
On July 15th, the Bench comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose JJ directed the Solicitor General to file a reply, explaining the delay on behalf the Union.
On August 2nd, Tushar Mehta requested more time. As this marked the second time Mehta was seeking an adjournment, the court stressed that it would not wait indefinitely for the Union to file a reply. Nevertheless, on August 16th the court granted another adjournment, after Tushar Mehta stated the Union would file a reply within one week.
Today, the special bench comprising the CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Sharad Bobde and Abdul Nazeer JJ heard the matter. The CJI noted that he had received a communication from the Department of Justice. He said that the Collegium will take up the communication in due course. He directed that matter to be listed after the Collegium makes a decision.