The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday told the the Attorney General R Venkataramani that the Jharkhand government has filed a contempt petition against the Centre for not appointing the Chief Justice in the high court in the state despite collegium reccomendation.


AG R Venkataramani appearing for Centre told the top court that he was not aware of the petition by the Jharkhand government.


The matter came up when AG Venkataramani mentioned before the CJI Chandrachud led bench that it will be providing some details next week concerning the collegium’s recommendations on the appointment of chief justices in several high courts in the country.


AG Venkataramani was seeking an adjournment of the hearing on a PIL which is listed for hearing on Friday (tomorrow).


On September 13, the Centre had informed the top court that it has received some sensitive material that had led to a delay in implementation of the apex court collegium’s recommendations on appointments of chief justices to high courts.


"I would like to place the inputs and my suggestions in a sealed cover for perusal by the judges," AG Venkatramani had said.


The PIL was then posted for hearing on Friday. The PIL in question has sought a direction that a time limit be fixed for the Centre to notify the appointment of judges recommended by the Supreme Court collegium. While listening the mentioning about this PIL, the CJI today told the AGI about Jharkhand government's contempt plea.


"I will be providing some details about the collegium's recommendations. Please list the plea after a week," the top law officer told the court today while seeking an adjournment in the PIL.


However, the top court told Centre's counsel that the submissions for the adjournment can be made on Friday itself as the matter is already on board.


At the same time, the CJI mentioned Jharkhand government's contempt of court petition against the Centre for not appointing the Chief Justice in the high court in the state.


"I am not aware," the top law officer replied.


The Jharkhand government has moved the Supreme Court with a contempt of court petition against the Centre over delay in the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. The state government has flagged the "unreasonable delays" in the matters of appointment of the High Court Chief Justice after the recommendations have been made by the Collegium system headed by the Chief Justice of India. 


The state government has termed this delay by the Centre in appointing the Chief Justice as "detrimental to the administration of Justice in the state."


The petition states that the actions of the "Alleged Contemnors" (Centre) in not making appointments in terms of the recommendations of the Collegium can have an adverse impact on the Rule of Law, which has been held to be a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.


The contempt petition filed by the Jharkhand government further states that despite this orderof the Supreme Court, the appointment of a permanent Chief Justice for the Jharkhand High Court has been delayed significantly. The petition further states that the since December 2023, the high court has had only an Acting Chief Justice, with only 15 days of a regular Chief Justice.


The Supreme Court collegium had recommended the appointment of Dr. Justice BR Sarangi, a judge of the Orissa High Court, as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand. This recommendation was approved by the Centre after over six months, and just 15 days before Sarangi's retirement.


On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the transfer of Justice MS Ramachandra Rao, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, to Jharkhand High Court as the Chief Justice. However, the transfer is still awaiting Centre's approval.