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.
The apex court has previously layed down strict timelines for the appointment of High Court judges which said that the appointments should be made within 3-4 weeks of reccomendations by the Supreme Court.