New Delhi, Sep 6: President Droupadi Murmu has appointed advocates Amitabh Kumar Rai and Rajiv Lochan Shukla as Judges of the Allahabad High Court with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices, an official said on Saturday.

The official from the Ministry of Law and Justice, in a statement, said that the President’s decision is in exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India and after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

Earlier, on September 1, the Centre appointed advocate Arun Kumar as a judge of the Allahabad High Court.

“In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Arun Kumar to be a Judge of the Allahabad High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office,” said a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

In May 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by then CJI DY Chandrachud, had recommended his appointment, noting his “eminent fitness” for the post after reviewing his professional record and inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

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The apex court Collegium had initially deferred the proposal in January 2023, citing certain IB observations.

Subsequently, the Department of Justice forwarded a report dated February 1, 2023, in which the IB clarified that it had “no additional inputs” beyond its earlier observations.

In its statement, the SC Collegium had emphasised Kumar’s long legal career and the positive views expressed by consultee judges.

“The candidate is about 51 years of age and fulfils the income criterion. He has put in over 25 years of practice at the Bar and has experience of conducting a wide range of cases before the High Court in constitutional, civil and revenue jurisdiction,” it had noted.

“Bearing in mind that the Intelligence Bureau has no additional/specific inputs or verifiable material, the Collegium is of the considered opinion that the candidate is eminently fit and suitable for appointment as a Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad,” added the SC Collegium’s statement.

As per the memorandum of procedure (MoP) governing the appointment of High Court judges, the proposal for the appointment should be initiated by the Chief Justice. If the Chief Minister wishes to recommend any name, it must be forwarded to the Chief Justice for consideration.

The Governor, as advised by the Chief Minister, should forward his recommendation along with the entire set of papers to the Union Minister of Law and Justice as early as possible, but not later than six weeks from the date of receipt of the proposal from the Chief Justice of the High Court.

The proposal is then reviewed by the Centre along with other background inputs before being sent to the CJI, who consults the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court before finalising a recommendation.

Following the consultations, the CJI will, in the course of four weeks, send his recommendation to the Union Minister of Law and Justice. (IANS)

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