Modi Govt Keeps Sc Collegium Waiting On Kashmir Lawyer Picked As HC Judge, Gives No Reason theprint.in

A Jammu & Kashmir High Court lawyer’s elevation as judge has been stalled for more than two years now, since it was first recommended by the court’s collegium in 2017. Wasim Sadiq Nargal’s appointment as a judge in the Jammu & Kashmir High Court was also cleared by the Supreme Court collegium, but the government sent it back. Ten months after the apex court collegium asked the government to furnish a reason for rejecting the recommendation, it is yet to receive a reply, ThePrint has learnt.

Nargal was one of five names recommended for elevation by the Jammu & Kashmir High Court collegium on 24 August 2017. Four of these were lawyers and one a district and sessions judge. On 6 April 2018, the Supreme Court collegium, which then comprised former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice Jasti Chelameswar and Justice Ranjan Gogoi, considered the recommendations and decided to clear the names of three of the lawyers — Nargal, Nazir Ahmed Beig and Sindhu Sharma. District and sessions judge Rashid Ali Dar’s name was cleared as well.