Cannot deny judgeship due to political background: Collegium rejects Centre's objection to appointment of 'CPI(M) sympathiser'

The SC Collegium found the candidate as fit and suitable for appointment as a judge of the High Court.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, on Wednesday rejected the government's objections to the elevation of advocate Manoj Pulamby Madhavan as a judge of the Kerala High Court.

The Department of Justice had observed that "Madhavan is a CPI(M) sympathiser and was appointed as government pleader in 2010 and 2016-2021 by the LDF Government.” 

Rejecting the objection, the Collegium stated that observation that candidate is considered to be a CPI(M) sympathiser is otherwise "vague and bereft of cogent grounds".

"Even otherwise, the mere fact that the candidate has had a political background may not be a sufficient reason in all cases," the Collegium said. 

The Collegium also referred to a case of Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri (without naming her) who was appointed as additional judge of the Madras High Court in February, 2023

"For example, in the recent past, an advocate has been appointed as a Judge of the High Court though she was an office bearer of a political party prior to her elevation," the Collegium, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, added. 

Madhavan belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and has 35 reported judgments to his credit.

"The input does not constitute a valid ground to reject his candidature," it said.

The Collegium said as a matter of fact, the appointment of the candidate as a government pleader would indicate that he would have acquired sufficient experience in handling cases where the state is a party in diverse branches of law.

It found the candidate as fit and suitable for appointment as a judge of the High Court.

The Collegium also recommended the elevation of advocates, Abdul Hakhim Mullappally Abdul Aziz, Syam Kumar Vadakke Mudavakkat, Harisankar Vijayan Menon, Manu Sreedharan Nair, and Easwaran Subramani, as judges of the High Court of Kerala.