Centre appoints 7 Delhi HC judges, withholds approval for one collegium pick

The Centre on Saturday notified the appointment of seven judicial officers as judges of the Delhi high court, despite the Supreme Court collegium having recommended eight names.

The Supreme Court collegium on September 10 notified the names of eight judicial officers, Nivedita Anil Sharma, Nisha Sahay Saxena, Sanjay Sharma-I, Bharat Parashar, Dr Aditi Choudhary, Dinesh Bhatt, Arun Bhardwaj and Gurvinder Pal Singh.

However, the Centre through the notification posted on X by Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal cleared the appointments of only seven, and withheld the approval for Singh’s name.

While Nivedita Anil Sharma and Nisha Sahay Saxena have been appointed as permanent judges, Sanjay Sharma-I, Bharat Parashar, Dr Aditi Choudhary, Dinesh Bhatt, Arun Bhardwaj have been appointed as additional judges.

Bhardwaj is currently serving as the registrar general of the Delhi high court, while Parashar is the secretary general of the Supreme Court.

Saxena is the principal district and sessions judge of the Rohini North-West District, while Sharma-I serves as the principal district and sessions judge of the Karkardooma North-East District. Bhatt is the principal district judge-cum-special judge (PC Act) (CBI) at the Rouse Avenue Courts.

Two judicial officers –Nivedita Anil Sharma and Dr Choudhary – have retired. Their names along with Gurvinder Pal Singh’s name, according to people familiar with the development, had earlier been recommended by the Delhi high court collegium for elevation to the high court.

With the Centre’s approval, the high court, which is currently functioning with a strength of 44 against a sanctioned strength of 60, will have 51 judges.