Latest news with #SanjivKhanna
India Gazette
14-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Unemployed SSC teachers launch protest march 'Nabanno Abhiyan' towards Bengal Secretariat
Howrah (West Bengal) [India], July 14 (ANI): Senior Secondary Commission (SSC) teachers who lost their jobs after the Calcutta High Court decisison in 2024, launched a protest march 'Nabanno Abhiyan' in Howrah towards the Bengal Secretariat under the banner of 'Jogya Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha'. They lost their jobs following a Supreme Court judgment which held that the whole appointment process was tainted. The teachers who lost their jobs staged several protest against the Mamata Banerjee's government demanding justice. Calcutta High Court in April, 2024 declared all appointments null and void in the selection of candidates in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided secondary and higher secondary schools through a 2016 recruitment process. The court further ordered that those who were recruited illegally will have to return their salary. All appointments by the SSC in the categories of teachers of classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 and group-C and D staffers through the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) where irregularities were found have also been declared null and void. A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that the West Bengal SSC's selection process was based on large-scale manipulations and fraud. 'In our opinion, this is a case wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded,' the apex court bench stated in its judgement. The apex court found no reason to interfere with the High Court's direction that the services of 'tainted' candidates must be terminated and that they should be required to refund any salaries/payments received. 'Since their appointments were the result of fraud, this amounts to cheating. Therefore, we see no justification to alter this direction', the bench added. (ANI)
News18
06-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
'ICU-Like Setup For Daughter': Ex-CJI Chandrachud Reacts To SC Order To Vacate Bungalow
Last Updated: Ex-CJI Chandrachud's reaction came after the Supreme Court administration wrote to Centre, seeking an "immediate vacation" of the official Chief Justice's residence. Former Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, on Sunday, reacted to the Supreme Court administration's letter to the Centre, seeking 'immediate vacation" of the official residence of the CJI and its return to the court's housing pool. Justice Chandrachud, who retired as the CJI in November last year, continues to stay in Bungalow No. 5 on Krishna Menon Marg in Lutyens' Delhi – which is designated as the official residence for the sitting CJI under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs – nearly eight months after his retirement. Sources told CNN-News18 that the top court's administration has requested the government to get the house vacated without delay. Justice Chandrachud Responds To Letter Explaining the situation while speaking with CNN-News18, the former CJI said that former Sanjiv Khanna, who preceded him as the Chief Justice of India, allowed him an extension until April and, after that, he sought another extension due to 'special needs" for his elder daughter, for whom an 'ICU-like setup" has been created at the existing residence. 'Justice Sanjiv Khanna allowed me the extension until April. At April end, I wrote to Justice Khanna seeking an extension till June," Justice Chandrachud said. Citing his daughter's ill health, he said that he urged the government to allot him a temporary accommodation on rent, and he would shift there as soon as the required repairs were completed. 'We were looking for a specific house since our daughters are with special needs. We have created an ICU-like setup for our elder daughter, and hence finding a house in the open market according to our needs is difficult. Hence, I had requested the government to give me temporary accommodation on rent," he said. 'The government house allocated to me required a lot of repairs, and we're just waiting for it to be complete, and the very next day we will move in. Our packing is complete, I will move the very next day when the house is ready," the former CJI clarified. Stay Period Extended After Retirement According to a report, Justice DY Chandrachud wrote to then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on December 18, 2024—just over a month after retiring—asking for permission to stay at his official house at 5 Krishna Menon Marg until April 30, 2025. In the letter, he explained that although he had been given another house (Bungalow No. 14 on Tughlak Road) as per the rules for retired judges, renovation work there was delayed because of restrictions on construction under GRAP-IV (a pollution control plan in Delhi). He said it would be easier to stay at his current home until the renovation was done. He also offered to give up the Tughlak Road house so it could be given to another judge. As per the rules made in 2022, a retired Chief Justice is allowed to stay in Type VII accommodation (a slightly smaller house) for up to six months after retirement. But Justice Chandrachud was staying in a Type VIII bungalow, which is usually for serving Chief Justices. After Chief Justice Khanna agreed, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs approved his request, allowing him to stay in the Krishna Menon Marg bungalow from December 11, 2024, to April 30, 2025. This approval was officially sent to the Supreme Court in a letter dated February 13, 2025. First Published: July 06, 2025, 13:04 IST
India Gazette
05-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Merit will never be compromised," says CJI BR Gavai
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 5 (ANI): Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai reaffirmed the Supreme Court's commitment to transparency in judicial appointments during a felicitation ceremony organised by the Bombay Bar Association. He emphasised that the court is working to dispel the perception that the Supreme Court is 'CJI-centric.' Speaking at the Bombay High Court in an event organised by the Bombay Bar Association, CJI Gavai highlighted ongoing efforts to ensure a more inclusive and transparent appointment process. He noted that this approach had been strengthened since the tenure of Justice Sanjiv Khanna. '...We have tried to dispel the impression that the Supreme Court is a CJI-Centric court,' CJI Gavai said. 'In the interest of the institution, from the period of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, we have tried to infuse more transparency in the matter of appointments.' He shared that the court had recently interviewed 54 candidates and recommended around 36 appointments. He assured that the selection process would continue to be transparent while ensuring fair representation from all sections of society. 'For the last three days, on the first two days, we held interviews with about 54 candidates, and yesterday we have recommended around 36 appointments...I must assure you that we will ensure that we adopt a complete process of transparency while ensuring that representation is given to all sections of society. The merit will never be compromised,' he added. Addressing the issue of case pendency, CJI Gavai acknowledged it as a serious challenge. He attributed one of the significant causes of pendency to judicial vacancies and assured that steps are being taken to address them. 'Pendency is a huge issue. We are trying to work on it. One of the reasons for dependency is the vacancies which are not filled up. This is the third function in Nagpur that has flagged an issue about interference in the functioning of the college. I must assure you that we will ensure that we will adopt a complete process of transparency. While ensuring that the representation is given to all sections of the society, the merit will never be compromised, and in so far as my own High Court is concerned, I can assure that the names, whatever are recommended, we will try to follow it up and that as soon as possible the Bombay High Court starts functioning at full strength so that at least the issue of dependency is addressed to some extent.' Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India in May. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Gavai, who succeeded CJI Sanjiv Khanna. Justice Gavai is the first Buddhist Chief Justice and only the second from the Dalit community, after former Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, who held office in 2007, to occupy the highest judicial office in the country. Justice Gavai has also made it clear that he will not take any post-retirement assignments. (ANI)
NDTV
05-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Supreme Court Is Not A Chief Justice-Centric Court": BR Gavai
Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai reaffirmed the Supreme Court's commitment to transparency in judicial appointments during a felicitation ceremony organised by the Bombay Bar Association. He emphasised that the court is working to dispel the perception that the Supreme Court is "CJI-centric." Speaking at the Bombay High Court in an event organised by the Bombay Bar Association, CJI Gavai highlighted ongoing efforts to ensure a more inclusive and transparent appointment process. He noted that this approach had been strengthened since the tenure of Justice Sanjiv Khanna. "...We have tried to dispel the impression that the Supreme Court is a CJI-Centric court," CJI Gavai said. "In the interest of the institution, from the period of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, we have tried to infuse more transparency in the matter of appointments." He shared that the court had recently interviewed 54 candidates and recommended around 36 appointments. He assured that the selection process would continue to be transparent while ensuring fair representation from all sections of society. "For the last three days, on the first two days, we held interviews with about 54 candidates, and yesterday we have recommended around 36 appointments...I must assure you that we will ensure that we adopt a complete process of transparency while ensuring that representation is given to all sections of society. The merit will never be compromised," he added. Addressing the issue of case pendency, CJI Gavai acknowledged it as a serious challenge. He attributed one of the significant causes of pendency to judicial vacancies and assured that steps are being taken to address them. "Pendency is a huge issue. We are trying to work on it. One of the reasons for dependency is the vacancies which are not filled up. This is the third function in Nagpur that has flagged an issue about interference in the functioning of the college. I must assure you that we will ensure that we will adopt a complete process of transparency. While ensuring that the representation is given to all sections of the society, the merit will never be compromised, and in so far as my own High Court is concerned, I can assure that the names, whatever are recommended, we will try to follow it up and that as soon as possible the Bombay High Court starts functioning at full strength so that at least the issue of dependency is addressed to some extent." Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India in May. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Gavai, who succeeded CJI Sanjiv Khanna. Justice Gavai is the first Buddhist Chief Justice and only the second from the Dalit community, after former Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, who held office in 2007, to occupy the highest judicial office in the country. Justice Gavai has also made it clear that he will not take any post-retirement assignments.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
High Courts Reluctant to Hire Retired Judges Despite Supreme Court Approval to Address Criminal Case Backlog, ET LegalWorld
Despite the Supreme Court clearing the idea nearly five months ago, the high courts seem not to be keen on appointing ad-hoc judges to tackle pending criminal cases, details available with the government showed. According to people aware of the procedure to appoint Supreme Court and high court judges, none of the high court collegiums have so far recommended names of retired judges to be appointed as ad-hoc judges. There are 25 high courts in the country. Till June 11, no high court collegiums sent any such proposal to the Union Law Ministry. Considering a backlog of over 18 lakh criminal cases, the Supreme Court on January 30 allowed the high courts to appoint ad-hoc judges, not exceeding 10 per cent of the court's total sanctioned strength. Advt Advt Article 224A of the Constitution allows the appointment of retired judges as ad-hoc judges in high courts to help deal with to the laid down procedure, the respective high court collegiums send recommendations or names of candidates to be appointed as HC judges to the Department of Justice in the law department then adds inputs and details of the candidates before forwarding the same to the Supreme Court SC Collegium then takes a final call and recommends to the government to appoint the selected persons as president signs the 'warrant of appointment' of the newly-appointed procedure to appoint ad-hoc judges will be the same except that the president will not sign the warrant of appointment. But the assent of the president will be sought for appointing ad-hoc in one case, there is no precedence of appointing retired judges as ad-hoc HC judges, officials had earlier pointed a judgement dated April 20, 2021, on the appointment of ad-hoc judges in the high courts, the top court imposed certain later a special Supreme Court bench comprising then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justices B R Gavai (incumbent CJI) and Surya Kant relaxed certain conditions and kept some in verdict, which was authored by former chief justice S A Bobde, directed retired high court judges to be appointed as ad-hoc ones for a period of two to three years to clear the one condition said that ad-hoc judges cannot be appointed if a high court was working with 80 per cent of its sanctioned strength, the other said ad-hoc judges could sit separately on benches to deal with the conditions, the court said the requirement that vacancies should not be more than 20 per cent of the sanctioned strength for the time being shall be kept in bench also said each high court should keep the appointment to two to five ad-hoc judges and not exceed 10 per cent of the total sanctioned strength."The ad-hoc judges will sit in a bench presided over by a sitting judge of the high court and decide pending criminal appeals," the apex court's order rarely used Article 224A of the Constitution deals with the appointment of ad-hoc judges in high courts."The chief justice of a high court for any state may at any time, with the previous consent of the president, request any person who has held the office of a judge of that court or of any other high court to sit and act as a judge of the high court for that state," it says. Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. All about ETLegalWorld industry right on your smartphone! Download the ETLegalWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles.
